Weakest link - Improve your business

What is holding you back? It is not who has the best tools, or biggest truck and trailer, or the best contacts and spots for scrap. It is how you combine the ingredients into an efficient system. The weakest link in the chain should be addressed first.

Do you have access to lots of material? Might be time to look into upgrading your tools. Processing material faster than you acquire it? Better look into promoting your cause and developing contacts. Making excess trips or passing on certain size items? Time to address the vehicle.



And when this weakest link is eliminated, a new one will always appear. This is an ongoing assessment that is never completed. Don’t get hung up on your strengths, look to your weaknesses to become bigger, faster, and better.

J

Right on......

I willl be getting decals for my scrap truck soon and starting to advertise loacally thereafter. I made the final leap, I am gonna try and turn this hobby venture that makes me more money in one day then I could earn at another job in a week into a full time operation

Good question OP

What is holding my company back at this time is kinda funny..its a mix of a few things.

I need to take more to get better pricing but I need a bigger place for brake down but need the money from selling more stuff to go and buy a bigger place..so in short...Its like a dog chasing its own tail. You just have to keep at it an set goals.

MM, we have these peel off magnets that you stick your business card to. Hey, hoping they're like me and use it to stick whatever with to the fridge and see my business name every time they go to get a beer!

Excellent idea! Thanks!

In reference to the circle easyrecycle explained, I attempt the following technique.

I try to sell my biggest, bulkiest items first (value per cubic ft?). This is true both of items for the scrap yard and items for resell. If I am able to meet my financially obligations by parting with the least valuable items that take up the most of my valuable space, it allows time to acquire larger amounts of the more valuable items to sell at an even higher price, without as much pressure on my available space.

This can defiantly be challenging, but when you are able to sell your items on your terms/time frame there is a lot less chance of getting taken advantage of. If you have to sell it today, because you need the money today, you loss much of your negotiating power.

Best of luck
J

Over the past 18 months or so I followed a plan that mirrors the "weakest link" plan. I focused on reaching ONE goal at a time. Each goal being a single part of an overall plan. I knew nothing about scrapping so thats where I started. I asked questions while waiting outside the yard, its amazing how sharing some cigerettes makes instant friends. I googled everything i could think of about scrapping basics.

Next I went out nightly and took note of the locations i found that looked to be good scrap spots. With no truck I plotted out where and when to go each night.

Months later I earned enough to get a solid 97 F150 as well as some cordless tools. At that point the $$$ started flowing. In 18 months I went from a can collecting newbie to someone who fills his truck just about every day.

I'm just now starting to reach my next goal...... a full service removal company.

Scrap Master J , you hit the nail on the head with this post

Nice post!

My situation right now, i cannot keep up with the flow of tv's i get. My storage unit (biggest they offer at $150 a month) is ALWAYS full. I break them down, store the tubes in there. I'm to the point now where i have to move out a truck load, just to put the tubes in. Now, every Monday is my pickup day for my contacts. This last week i had to cancel on all my contacts because i simply could not keep up.

I've done something about my "weakest link". (Not being able to keep up). I've "hired" a neighbor to help the in the teardown. I give him a truckload of tv's. He breaks them all the way down. His pay is the degaussing cable out of each one, and i get the rest. Only problem so far.....he absolutely HATES tearing them down. He complains ALL THE TIME as to how much he hates doing it. Just an hour ago, "If i see one more gotda**** tv im gonna shoot it". So in a way he's helping, but in another way he's interupting me when im trying to work, by complaining for an hour.

Sad thing is he's the only guy that i trust to help me out.

Well put.... the other side of the coin is to focus on your strengths and hire someone to do what you dont know...

Great post. My weakest link was help, I lost one helper and was doing everything and I mean everything myself from loading to tear down to drop off. I had wanted to learn everything before sharing, lol, I now have use of my dads 4 car garage for more space and more help that I trust and that made a big difference. I can move more stuff when someone else helps tear down.

Originally Posted by Scrap Master J

In reference to the circle easyrecycle explained, I attempt the following technique.

I try to sell my biggest, bulkiest items first (value per cubic ft?). This is true both of items for the scrap yard and items for resell. If I am able to meet my financially obligations by parting with the least valuable items that take up the most of my valuable space, it allows time to acquire larger amounts of the more valuable items to sell at an even higher price, without as much pressure on my available space. J

That's my strategy exactly. I have to slow down some times to catch up with the "processing" and sometimes I just can't find any scrap. That's the worst of all.

Very good post. My weakest link is finding the stuff to scrap. Around here there are so many "scrappers" it's pathetic. Tried handing out business cards and it worked somewhat and I did get a few leads, but got quite a few handed back too. I'm not giving up though.

I felt it was time to look back.

This is a great thread..
I am sure being new I have multiple weak links..
I have a different angle with this. Being in the corp world in sales and marketing for all my life, it still hold true.

In reality my weakest link, is ME!

Great thread...

I am my greatest limitation.

Veryoldguy is verywise. Look at yourself. I run a few bussinesses.