Working With Family is Challenging
When we set up the new business in February the challenge was always going to be getting my kids to think differently from what they know. The problem was they thought they knew too much when in reality they were thinking from a employees angle and not as an owner. When you own something whatever you decide impacts the company because you are the one paying the bills. Others rely on you for the security of their jobs plus possibly an end of year bonus.
Today I had a long discussion with my daughter with regard to certain logistics service suppliers and what the problems were. The company I bought on board back in February has done remarkably well with not one hiccup experienced even though there was one close call. Still they did not mess up and offer the service they promised so you have to give them credit where it is due.
We have opened 2 new accounts with other service providers for local deliveries and I wanted to know why. What are you not telling me as there has to be a reason for this. Our logistics provider is based in Cape Town so this service they will provide is not under their noses and why she has concerns. The orders going out this month are worth many millions and she is feeling stressed that there may be a big mistake coming. Orders up till now have been smallish in comparison and this is going to be next level.
When you take on a service provider their job is to take away the day to day worries through the services they provide so this did not make much sense. You pay them so you do not have to worry This is why talking things through explaining the thought process is vital as part of their learning.
It was like watching a mini me when we discussed the figures and costs involved with regard to one delivery comparing the options available. Within a short period of time she got the answer she had been looking for and that was to pick up the phone and express her concerns with the owner of our service provider who has not messed up once yet. Sharing and communicating your concerns are crucial and ultimately make your business relationships stronger.
We know the companies they use for outsourcing in our local region and one of them is the potential problem which will now be changed to another who we know very well. The problem is the company in question lie as I saw this with my own eyes whilst waiting for them to collect this evening. The driver had stated he had come through earlier and the items were not ready for collection yet they were ready this morning sitting in the collection bay. This is unforgiveable and they would have been given the boot if my daughter hadn't sorted this out. If they can lie on something like this then they can lie on other things too so a far as I was concerned they were done.
Communication is all it takes letting your service provider know you are not happy especially considering they have not messed up once yet. This is their problem to resolve to make their customer happy which happens to be us in this case.
My daughter is what I would call soft who would not say boo to a ghost let alone tackle a problem head on. I think this may be more down to a lack of confidence in her own abilities, but that is changing. Today by expressing her concerns about what took place has shown she has the temperament to get things done. A different approach to how I would have handled it, but we would have ended up with the same result either way.
What excited me was the figures as one supplier had offered to deliver 9 pallets worth of stock for R17K which she rattled back they were too expensive and maybe next time they could re quote. Again very polite and slightly different to my approach as sticking with a trusted supplier is worth far more than just price as if they were too expensive they would match it. The price we were working with was R4K less and tells me she is getting to grips understanding the true costs which is vital.
If you know your prices then you are well on your way to running an efficient profitable business. The plan was always to try and make them think how I think and that is through numbers and relationships. The company she bought onboard back in February for local deliveries did not pan out as expected which was a good lesson learned. More importantly the signs are there and within 12 months will be running this side of the business like clock work.