“Take tool inventory every year. If it’s a company-owned tool, take inventory. If you have an employee that you fire, take inventory,” Fewell stresses.
To help with that, he suggests also numbering company tools and equipment for easier tracking, inventorying shop supplies and of course, dismiss any employee caught stealing immediately.
“The loss is so important because in our industry, again we don’t make ourselves accountable for things that come in like that, because everything that comes in is only coming in to go back out,” Fewell states. “Knowing that’s the whole purpose, if I don’t measure what comes in and what goes out, and it falls through the cracks and I have to keep replacing stuff, that takes money off the bottom line.”
Fewell highlighted the bottom line and other profit and loss sheet aspects in his meeting. From measuring productivity and efficiency, to expense control and forecasting, he worked with the shop owner attendees to better grasp their financials when they return home. He says in the end, he hopes attendees take three to four of the measurements taught and implement them in their business.
“What I find across the industry is that most of the time we’re so busy working in our business we don’t take time to look at our business and the financial aspect of it and measure what’s going on,” he explains. “If you don't’ have a way to generate net income and day to day measure that so that you know you’re on your marks, at the end of your business life, you have nothing. You just had a job instead of a job or a business.”
