In this group, I own one of the largest companies. So most of the women I could go to for advice have shoulders smaller than mine to lean on. I find myself nurturing the other, smaller businesses instead. Though we never discuss gross sales (do men do that?), I know that of 15 women at my meetings, 3 of us have employees paid "over" the table. The rest are home based.
January 28, 1992 Pat B., my sister-in-law and also my bookkeeper, gives her notice. Company getting too big. She asks me to let her move aside so that I can hire someone with more accounting and finance skills. I agree, though not happily. She and I have worked together since the beginning, and it devastates me that she is leaving. She is the organizer, the one who knows what I am thinking before I open my mouth. When I am out of the office, she runs it, pays the bills, does the payroll. I trust her without blinking. I cannot even imagine what to do next. Yet, I will not mention this to the board. Instead, I concentrate on major goals.
A part-time employee who is majoring in accounting approaches me after Pat's announcement to let me know he is interested in her position. He feels we really need someone with a bachelor's degree in finance. I agree to let him start doing some bookkeeping work in the evenings.
February 4, 1992 First meeting. Three of seven board members attend. The rest called in their excuses. I am reluctant to go ahead but don't want to inconvenience the three who have made time to attend. We decide to set up a second meeting for the other four for a few weeks later and proceed. Presentations by three of my managers and me. Nervous!
Each board member feels compelled to share in the advice giving. I furiously take notes. Eliminate employee presentations. Employees are too concerned with operations. The board is more concerned with the big picture. Since they are giving me only eight hours (two hours for each quarterly meeting this year), anything extraneous just takes up valuable time.
Brian M., finance expert and manager at a large national accounting firm, says I don't talk enough about the finances of the business. Mike P., a metals broker and CEO of a multimillion-dollar firm, agrees. "A company with weak financial controls is a weak company," Mike says. I am asked if I have ever done a cash-flow analysis. I say no. Brian offers to show me how, and we set up a meeting for three weeks later. [Note: We will reschedule that meeting three times. Eventually, Brian changes jobs and leaves the board. This was his only meeting.]
Mike says I should be doing something called tele-selling -- selling products directly over the phone -- like a friend of his who owns a telemarketing company in Pittsburgh. It means long-term contracts, something we have few of. Most of our work is on a project basis, which Mike thinks saps my company's stability. We specialize in telemarketing on special projects lasting 4 to 12 weeks -- usually lead-generation projects for manufacturing companies. He notes that a long-term contract with an international manufacturer is part of what helped him build sales in his own company.
I have many ideas about how to build the company's sales. That isn't one of them. I write it down but don't actively pursue the suggestion any further. After all, I rationalize, only a few telemarketing companies in the tri-state area offer the level of professional service that we do. How can we turn down the small-project work that has built the company?
Still, the long-term notion of Mike's suggestion is a good one. In the next few months I will be renegotiating with a major client and will ask for a revised 12-month agreement with a possible extension for up to three years.
Steve M., marketing manager for a local cultural organization, asks if I use anybody else for advice besides the advisory board. I tell him I really haven't used anyone other than consultants to help me solve specific problems. We paid computer consultants to help us when we made the investment to automate the telemarketing department. I also hired a marketing consultant last year who helped us look at how we delivered services and refine our customer-service skills.
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Steve says my limited use of outside counsel is a mistake. I need to take my banker, my accountant, and my attorney and cultivate relationships with them. I take notes but wonder how much all that cultivation will cost me in extra billings.
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I do, however, add all the people he named, plus three of my regular consultants, to my advisory-board memo list. Following the meeting I will send the board an update on company activities and will send the exact same materials to those additional six people. [Note: My banker, after receiving the material, called immediately to thank me and has given me a lead for business at the bank. My accountant started giving me extra hours of attention at no charge. I also notice I am not wasting time playing "catch-up" with them. They appear to be reading everything I send them. Amazing.]
Mike P.: "Always remember this and write it down somewhere." He pauses while I pull out my pen. "Strategy first, structure second." I ask him to clarify. "Figure out where you want to go. Then work on logistics." I am being told in a nice way to stop pressing so hard against the daily tasks.
What is my long-term vision? What is the role I want to play? Those questions keep popping up, and I do not want to deal with them. My way of doing business is the one my father taught me -- get up every day and just work hard. Last fall I did use a representative from SCORE [Service Corps of Retired Executives] to help me write a business plan to get the loan for our computer system. I even wrote a mission statement for the business. I share both with the board. Somehow, they don't seem to think that is enough. What point am I missing? Can't tell.
