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“And of course, she’s right,” I said. “You are the owner, the problem is solely yours.”
“Yes, I know,” Manny said gloomily. “Every problem is mine — that’s the problem. I’m not a business owner, I’m a fireman. I spend all my time rushing around dousing everyone else’s flames. I’m supposed to be negotiating a new contract today, but instead, I have to figure out where 150 grand is hiding, using a computer system I know nothing about.”
Bad memories came flooding back to me — memories of having lots of employees, none of whom could seemingly figure their way out of a wet paper bag. Employees who perpetually looked at me like lost babies in a jungle of hungry tigers.
“You know, Manny,” I said. “Your choices are actually pretty simple:
A. You can dig in and do what you should have done long ago; learn all about your accounting systems. Learn how and what your employees input, understand all the reporting, know how to get into the system yourself and retrieve answers.
B. Hire more or different people to do this for you. However, this won’t solve the problem because only you know what information you need to run your business. In the absence of intensive hands-on setup and instruction from you, any new batch of employees stands very little chance of doing better than those you’ve got now.
C. Do nothing and continue fighting fires — in the dark, extinguishing flames you can’t see until they burn you.
“Of course, you’ll chose A,” I continued. “And in doing so, you’ll very likely discover serious inefficiencies in your accounting systems. You’ll be amazed at how poorly run your books are now, and how much time and effort will be saved once your beans and their systems are whipped into shape. The tough part is, only you can do this — the same you who is already stretched too thinly tending the other parts and pieces of your company-machine.”
“I was afraid of that,” Manny said. “But, I know you’re right. It is my problem, I need to fix it.”
“Yes, you do. Keep in mind, the actual making of money is only half the battle. The other half consists of marketing, people managing and bean tending. Many business owners, especially construction company owners, don’t understand this — to their undoing.”
“Thanks, I think,” Manny said. “But, you know, I got into this business because I love construction, not marketing, managing or bean-tending.”
“Right,” I interjected. “But think of it this way: if you had a broken piece of equipment, or a technical problem, you’d be on it like white on rice. Money is the very lifeblood of your company — it demands the same attention you give your excavators, operators and foremen. In the big picture of your business, if you want caviar and champagne, make darned sure to tend your beans.”
Tim K. Garrison P.E. of ConstructionCalc.com has authored books and short courses and lectures on topics relevant to builders. Got a technical or management issue? E-mail buildersengineer@constructioncalc.com. Tim reads every one.
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Manny Bucks waited for me at our favorite lunch haunt. His chin was in his hands as I approached.
