Kitchen and Bath Business and Project Management

1

Getting Started

Millions of people start their own businesses every year. Possibly you’ve already started yours, or you’re giving it serious thought. Whatever the case, many skeptics may try to scare you with the statistics on how many new businesses fail every year, how hard you’ll have to work, and how long it will take before you show a profit. But, if everyone listened to the skeptics… John Michael Kohler would not have started Kohler Company, Paul Wellborn would not have expanded Wellborn Cabinet, Inc., and the seven Jacuzzi brothers would not have started the now multiproduct Jacuzzi, Inc.

Learning Objective 1: Compare the pros and cons of owning your own business.

Learning Objective 2: Compare your personal leadership traits to the traits and characteristics listed in the chapter.

Learning Objective 3: Review the entrepreneurial innovation assessment and define your personal strengths and weaknesses.

Learning Objective 4: Recognize the characteristics of failed and successful entrepreneurs.

Learning Objective 5: Analyze common mistakes to avoid as an owner/manager of a business.

Pros and Cons of Owning Your Own Business Pros

• You are your own boss. The sky’s the limit.
• You can prove yourself.
• You will have a hand in all aspects of the business.
• You will be able to take pride in promoting and marketing your own business.
• You will be in control.
• You will have creative freedom.
• The more the company makes, the more you make.
• You cannot be fired, laid off, or forced to retire.
• You will have the ultimate satisfaction of knowing you started and ran a successful business.

Cons

• There is no guaranteed paycheck.
• It’s all on your shoulders.
• You cannot please everyone.
• You will work harder and longer than ever before.
• You will assume the risk of investment.
• There will be constant stress and pressure.
• You will have to adhere to all the laws and regulations.

DO YOU HAVE WHAT IT TAKES?

It All Starts with an Idea

At some point it hits you that, like so many others, you could own and run your own business. You want to step out on your own and take control of your work and financial future. You are confident that you have what it takes to buck the odds and succeed. You also know that owning your own business comes with risks.

Mrs. Fields Cookies 1/4 cup Passion 1/4 cup Perfection 1/4 cup Perseverance 1/4 cup People

Business Success

Debbi Fields Rose, the founder and owner of Mrs. Fields Cookies, had her recipe for success called “the 4 P’s.” Mrs. Fields defines each “P” this way:

• Passion. You have to absolutely and passionately love what you do. In your case, you will have to love designing and selling kitchen and bath (K&B) projects. Never go into business if your first priority is to make money. Money will be the by-product of doing something you love and doing it well.
• Perfection. You must constantly strive for perfection because, for your business to succeed and have staying power, you have to do it better than anyone else. Stay focused on constantly improving while stamping out mediocrity.
• Perseverance. Stick with it. You’ll need guts. Guts to start and guts to believe in yourself. Guts to take on many challenges, guts to face failure, and guts to stick it out.
• People. No business can succeed without its greatest asset—people—no matter how good the products and services are. You’re not designing and building kitchens and baths, you’re helping turn dreams into reality. To achieve this, you will need a team that loves designing, selling, and installing dream projects as much as you do.

Four Keys to a Successful Kitchen/Bath Business

Business Foundation 1. A qualified entrepreneur 2. A researched business opportunity 3. A detailed written plan 4. A sufficient capital fund

Put all four of these together and you have a wonderful chance of success in owning and operating your own business.

Evaluating Yourself

While it is true that starting and running a business is difficult, it’s successfully done all the time by many individuals and partners who have built both large and small K&B businesses. You probably know some of these people. If not, you can meet them by actively participating in National Kitchen & Bath Association (NKBA) chapter events or those of other associations. Develop networking opportunities for yourself: Introduce yourself and ask questions to learn what others’ keys to success are.

Would You Hire You?

If you’ve just begun to think about starting your own business or you’ve been running one for a number of years, you might want to determine if you are the right person for the job.

The position in question is one of being your own boss and running the whole show, which includes bookkeeping, sales and marketing, customer service, supervising employees, vendor relations, and so much more. Most important, your job hinges on your ability to make key decisions (some on short notice) and to utilize your people skills, because most business involves interaction with others. You may not be skilled in all of these key areas. If you’re not, you’ll have to find others who can assist you by providing strength in areas where you are lacking.

Leadership Traits

Here is a checklist of traits and characteristics you may need to run a business successfully:

Ability to make important decisions Ability to stay motivated, even when the business has slow times and is not running as smoothly as it might Knack for organization Good time management skills Good communication skills Stick-to-itiveness, or the drive that keeps you working long hours to get the job done Good physical health and stamina to survive the long hours and little sleep that may be part of the job Ability to get along well with many different types of personalities Ability to harness and manage anger and frustration Confidence in your skills, knowledge, and abilities to run a K&B business Ability to find answers to questions you cannot answer easily Ability to be firm or flexible so you can make adjustments or changes in your plans Ability to do research and weigh options before jumping into a situation or making a hasty decision Ability to balance a business and a personal life successfully Ability to put money aside for difficult times Ability to network and spread the word about yourself and your business

EVALUATE YOURSELF

Be honest with yourself. Identify how many of the listed skills and talents you possess. How many will you commit to learning? How much of the description just is not you? How many people will you need to hire to fill the void? If you need help with 40 percent or more of the listed items, perhaps you should reconsider starting your own business.

As you analyze yourself, keep in mind that although businesses do fail for a variety of reasons outside of the owner’s control, more often actions (or lack of actions) on the owner’s part lead to an unsuccessful venture. That’s why entrepreneurs need to have a clear picture of both their skills and their shortcomings in order to build on their strengths and shore up their weaknesses.

Complete the next Entrepreneurial Innovation Assessment to help identify your entrepreneurial potential.

Entrepreneurial Innovation Assessment Read each statement carefully, then mark the answer that most accurately describes your behavior, feelings, and attitude as it actually is—not as you would like it to be or think it should be. Try to mark your first reaction.

Scoring Instructions

To score the test, circle and add up the values for your answers. 40. These characteristics score 2 points each: energetic, observant, persevering, resourceful, independent, dedicated, original, perceptive, enthusiastic, innovative, curious, involved, and flexible. These characteristics score 1 point each: self-confident, forward looking, informal, courageous, thorough, open minded, alert, dynamic, self-demanding, and absentminded. Interpreting Your Score 125–186 If you scored in this range, you are probably a highly innovative person. Ideas come readily to you. On the whole, you take an innovative approach to solving problems. You also discern possibilities and opportunities in areas where others find little potential. You are original and individualistic, and you have no problem resisting pressures to conform. You have the courage to pit yourself against uncertain circumstances. 77–124 A score in this range indicates that you are moderately innovative. While you lack some of the autonomy,...