Drip, drip, drip…what’s that???…drip, drip, drip…what’s that noise???…drip, drip, drip…where is that noise coming from???
Has this ever happened to you? Have you ever had a leaky faucet, a dripping shower, a running toilet, or the appearance of a water spot in the ceiling? Could you fix it? Most of us can’t. I certainly can’t. When I have discovered a leak somewhere in the house, do you know what I do? I call a plumber. Why? Because if I try to tackle it myself, I am confident that I won’t fix it and will probably make the leak worse. I need an expert.
In a home, the drip, drip, drip results in increased costs for water, damage that has to be repaired, and unexpected costs that put a dent in the family budget. But, what does this have to do with business? For businesses, that drip, drip, drip isn’t water, it’s money that the company is losing unnecessarily. It means a reduction in available capital that might be put to good use if it was available. This capital is being lost to the drip, drip, drip of a leaky business system.
What are some examples, you might ask? Let’s think about where this capital leakage might happen in any business:
- More watts are used than are needed for the job increasing the company’s watts/hour charges.
- The air system used by the shop’s pneumatic tools is not properly sealed.
- Water that could be recycled is lost to the sewage system.
- A machining operation creates 1 pound of waste per hour.
- Every year the company loses 5% of its customers.
I’m sure you can think of other examples of capital leakage in your company.
In a large, multi-billion dollar company this kind of capital leakage is almost invisible. It gets lost in the rounding. The dilemma for the small business is that this capital leakage can ultimately lead to bankruptcy.
What makes it even more difficult for the small business is the reality that everybody is busy doing their job. There aren’t people available to assign to “special” projects. That’s where SBTI comes in.
We are uniquely qualified to not just find the leaks, but to fix them…and…to make sure they never come back.
If you see yourself in this short article, why don’t you give us a call. Don’t try to do it yourself. We are the experts. We can help you.
If you would like to request a listening session for your business, you can contact me, George Strodtbeck, by email at gstrodtbeck@sbtimail.com.