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Bead Industries Celebrates 100 Years with its Employees – On March 17th, Bead Industries celebrated 100 years of continuous operation. Though many public events are in the works for the coming months, today was a time for Bead employees to gather together to celebrate the company’s centennial year in their Milford/Orange plant. Corned beef and cabbage was brought in from a local restaurant, and […] http://ow.ly/2ERzpY
Bead Industries Marks 100 Years of Manufacturing Innovation – Bead Industries, Inc., global manufacturer of electronic contact pins for the telecom, automotive, and connector industries and supplier of Bead Chain® and McGuire commercial plumbing products, celebrates its 100th year in business this year. Founded in 1914 in Bridgeport, Connecticut, Bead Industries developed and manufactured Bead Chain® for electric light pulls. Using the same innovative […] http://ow.ly/2DcLDP
Bead Welcomes a Third Daughter to the Business – Leading contact pin manufacturer for nearly 100 years, Bead Industries, Inc., announces the addition of another fifth generation family member, Sylvia Pessin, to the family business. Bead has hired Pessin as Customer Relationship Manager, making her the third daughter to join the company. Her sisters, Jill Mayer and Leah Davenport, came to Bead in 2008 […] http://ow.ly/2y1PTf
Expounding on Exports – The New Haven Manufacturers Association (NHMA) held its annual dinner meeting last night in … http://ow.ly/1kFK27
Regardless of your industry, business or profession a good website is crucial. It used to be the sign hanging outside the old shop shaped like the product sold inside. Then the advertisement in the Yellow Pages was the answer. Today, if you aren’t represented by a great website, you aren’t even in the game.
Putting together a great site takes partnering with a terrific web designer and spending many hours creating the all-important portal into your company. We are fortunate to have young people in our organization who have grown up with the computer and Internet. They’ve been key in building our site and, more importantly, monitoring the site’s traffic through Google Analytics. ”If you can’t measure it, you can’t fix it.”
I was having dinner with a new prospective customer the other evening. I was prepared for the meeting because I had been on their website and knew their history, products and recent news. I was not surprised that they had visited our site, but I was stunned to learn that they actually formed a committee to review our expertise, capabilities and viability completely through our website. That review resulted in their flying half way across the country to meet us in person, meet with our engineers and quality folks and view our factory. As it turns out, we are a good fit for each other and a business relationship is developing. Had we had a poor presence on the Internet, we would most likely have been eliminated as a potential supplier for interconnect pins. Even in such a niche market as swaging, our website is our international rep.
First impressions are vital both personally and in business. A great web presence is usually that first impression…and you must impress. The site is a true reflection of your business. Creating a great website is not easy or cheap; it takes time, thought, creativity and money. The upside is that a company can re-brand itself, create new logos or a new, more modern tag line while working on their website. These can all be re-purposed for business cards, promotional material and trade shows.
I have to admit, I’ve become rather fond of golf. You may have a round punctuated with poor shots, difficult lies and missed opportunities. But all it takes is one great drive or a thirty foot putt to bring you back for another round of self-imposed abuse.
Despite its challenges, golf usually reflects a player’s personality. And that’s why you should routinely invite business associates, vendors and customers out to the course. The way they play the game is going to be very similar to how they’ll perform in business.
Some people say golf has too many rules. But because there are so many variables in the game, rules, along with handicaps, are established to level the playing field so that all players can compete fairly against each other.
Golf is a game of honesty and integrity. In many instances, you are alone when you find your ball in the rough; do you improve your lie when no one’s looking or do you nudge your ball a foot or two to put it in bounds? How does your guest react to poor shots? When he or she shanks one into the woods, do they swear, throw their club or laugh. After all, it’s only a game.
How do you play the game?
Still, there is nothing better than a pleasant day on the golf course with a group of players who love the game, but are also comfortable with themselves and the way they play. Those are the people I’d do business with.
Last week the Connecticut House followed the Senate by passing the Paid Sick Leave bill (SB-913). Many manufacturers of all sizes wrote their representatives to oppose this bill: not that paid sick leave is a bad idea, but because it’s another area where government is intruding on business decisions. Although manufacturers were eventually excluded from SB 913, most manufacturers already provide paid time off for sickness. But business people see this as a way for government to get their foot in the door to begin to dictate what’s best for our employees. It’s obvious that a business that treats its employees poorly is one that has high turnover and usually poor quality.
The state of Connecticut continually stresses it’s a business friendly state, but it imposes high taxes, strict regulations, has expensive energy, uncommonly high property values, costly transportation…and a liberal state government that insists it knows what’s best for business.
The next hurdle will be the Captive Audience bill (HB 5460) which would restrict what employers can talk about with their employees at required company meetings. It specifically prohibits employers from expressing their views on matters deemed “political” in nature with political defined very broadly to include a list of activities ranging from actual politics and political party affiliation to the decision to join any political, social, community or labor organization activity. Of course, this is just another bone being thrown at the unions: and a close cousin to the “Card Check” bill which has failed on many levels. But the audacity of state government to dictate what I can and cannot talk to my employees about is an affront!
I tell you what: as soon as government gets its house in order (balanced budget and all), then let’s talk about what’s best for business owners.
As November 2nd approaches, Americans will go to the polls to make their choice for the future. Voting is a citizen’s most important duty. If we’re not part of the solution, we are part of the problem. I urge every American to vote their conscience.
Unfortunately, politics today has strayed too far from reality. Huge bills are passed by politicians who haven’t even read them, but then become irritated when the bill’s “unintended consequences” begin to surface. It appears these bills are conceived in some ethereal realm as a reaction to an event, but the final enactment tends more to hurt those who were never part of the problem in the first place. I learned not to punish the group in order to make a point with an individual. Years ago, a salaried individual took advantage of the company’s liberal sick leave policy. So I tightened up the policy, only to upset the rest of the employees who never abused the system. I should have dealt directly with the individual rather than rock the whole ship. I learned my lesson, but our government just can’t get it right.
Enron = Sarbanes-Oxley, an accounting nightmare that cost businesses dearly.
Oil spill = Moratorium on all off-shore drilling, costing thousands of dollars and jobs at a time we can’t afford it.
ObamaCare = loss of employer provided medical benefits; at least it looks that way as it would be less costly to pay the fine than provide the insurance. Also included in this bill is the 1099 debacle, requiring businesses to file 1099’s for each and every vendor paid more than $600 a year, again costing unnecessary time, effort and money.
Wealthy folks with too many deductions = Alternative Minimum Tax, that this year will affect more than 30 million tax filers.
The list goes on. But if government really wants to jump start the economy, it should begin by repealing the plethora of regulations on businesses that never deserved them and don’t need them. The majority of America companies are doing the right thing for their employees and are paying their fair share of taxes. Let us do what we do best; government, you concentrate on protecting your citizens from terrorists and upholding the constitution.
The Family Jewels Are Nickel-Plated Steel 