Columnists: Schmitt
Management Columnist Joe Schmitt Dies
Special to CONTRACTOR ST. CHARLES, MO. Joseph R. Schmitt Sr., who gave business management advice to CONTRACTOR readers for 20 years through his monthly...
Share Success With Employees, Community
(Editors note: Joseph Schmitt died Dec. 1, 2004. The following is the last column that he wrote for CONTRACTOR. His obituary appears on pg. 5.) EVEN IF...
Your People Should be Better and Highly Paid
MERRY CHRISTMAS AND a most emphatically happy New Year. Over the holidays I would hope you have some quiet time to think through your goals for next year....
I'll take a businessperson over a craftsman
ONE OF THE greatest impediments to successful contracting businesses is the total lack of business training on the part of anyone involved in administration....
No pay arrangements in advance, no work
IN PREPARATION for writing this column, I visited extensively with one of the sharpest financial operators I know specializing in service contracting....
Valuable Advice Can Come From Conventions
WE ARE HEADING for the fall season when many contractor associations hold their annual meetings. If you have even the slightest thought that you are going...
Game plan for this fall's convention, show
LAST MONTH, I strongly recommended you go to the national convention of the appropriate industry group important to you (July, pg 22). For most of you...
There Are Times to Use the 'F' Word
AS I WRITE THIS, quite a bit of media attention has been given to the word. Im not referring to the word that our society and the shock jocks have corrupted...
The Bull Elephants in Our Midst
I HAVE AN INORDINATE amount of respect for medium, large and super-size contractors. Over the years I have studied them and I have come to conclusions...
Understand and commit to Flat-Rate Pricing
FLAT-RATE PRICING is all around you. It is the common form of commerce for most of the things you buy and almost all of the things you consume. The doctor...
Indoctrinate New Employees into The Company
LAST MONTH I reminded you that in starting a new business you are not faced with the problem of having second-rate employees (When its time to strike...
When It's Time To Strike Out On Your Own
AS I MENTALLY review some outstandingly successful contractor startups that I have known, one trait seems to stand out more than any other. These new...
Do Your Kids Respect Your Business?
THIS IS A CONTINUATION of the New Years Resolutions list I started in December (pg. 18). You should strongly consider using this as an operational checklist...
Get Your Financial Tools, Employees In Order
IT IS RESOLUTION time again. I propose you devote 2004 to a personal and business campaign to become a strong businessman. I am convinced that most of...
A Checklist for Operating Your Business
THE AIRLINE COCKPIT crew always has a checklist to recite. The checklist really does make flying safer. Consider this CONTRACTOR magazine column as a...
'Tis the Season to Talk About Clogs
THE HOLIDAY SEASON is fast approaching. One of the gifts you can expect to receive if you are a service plumber is a substantial increase in the number...
Partnerships Are Not Made In Heaven
I AM NOT A FAN of most partnerships. You can prove me wrong by reminding me of Hewlett and Packard, the great electronics combination, which has prospered...
You Can't be All Things To All Customers
THERE ARE BASIC truths that apply to all businesses. You cant be all things to all customers. You can have great service, you can provide a quality product,...
Don't Allow Theft to Infest Your Business
In the May issue of Contractor magazine, Managing Editor Robert Mader did an outstanding job of summarizing a presentation on theft given at the spring...
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