Month: September 2016

Sept 27, 2016

By: Chelsea Haley, DKI Ventures, LLC

Now that it is officially fall, the fourth quarter is right around the corner. This can be stressful to many business owners, especially given that the fourth quarter is during the holiday season when many clients are on vacation and your teams are requesting time off. As you consider the end of the year, many questions are probably entering your mind, such as:

• Where do I begin?
• Are we still on track? Where did we miss out? How can we improve?
• How are we going to hit all our annual goals in time?

Read below for some tips to answer your questions, and start preparing now, if you haven’t already, for a successful end to 2016 and start to 2017.

Time to Review

Begin planning by reviewing and tracking your annual and quarterly goals and your strengths and weaknesses so far. Have your priorities changed? Where can you improve? Also, evaluate where you’ve spent the most money, where you can decrease your spending, and where you should increase it. Construct a calendar plan for each individual department, if you haven’t already, so everyone is on the same page to meet your goals.

Set Realistic Goals

Do your current goals match up with past performance? Are you on target to succeed, or have you set impractical goals that your business can’t keep up with? Examine your performance from last year and prior years, the industry trends you are seeing and your employees’ workloads. While you want to improve year over year, your goals should be realistic.

Remember, the holidays can be a physically and mentally busy time of year for everyone. Even with realistic goal setting, it’s possible your employees are already beginning to “check out.” Consider an incentive program for your sales and customer service teams to re-energize them to close that sale, and remember to encourage them with words of gratitude.

Use the Holiday Advantage

Yes, your time to reach your goals is limited with current and prospective clients and customers taking vacations, but start using the holidays to your advantage. Your sales and marketing approach can be catered to the demand for seasonal gifts, remodeling the house for holiday guests, or simply offering a holiday-focused or end of the year sale. Consider the activities during the holidays – cooking, shopping, cleaning, party planning, vacationing, etc. Can you use any of these fourth quarter trends to promote your products or services?

Maintain a Work Life Balance

Remember to allow downtime between your projects and goal-setting. Allow your employees the necessary days to rejuvenate. Whether laying low at home, spending time with family, or vacationing, everyone needs time to refresh, especially when under the pressures of finishing up the year.

Just make sure everyone is aware and can coordinate schedules to ensure coverage for those taking time off so that it doesn’t inhibit your business’ performance.

Reward & Celebrate

Keep your eyes on the goal(s) throughout the end of the year, and make sure to celebrate your accomplishments at the end. Your employees should have the mindset that hard work pays off, as it should. You all worked hard to get where you’re at – give yourself a pat on the back, and perhaps, an end of the year party.

Prepare for Next Year

Maybe you pulled through and hit all your 2016 goals, or maybe you slipped. Either way, it’s never too early to prepare for the future. Evaluate what you did in 2016 and how you can improve for next year.   Consider any new products or services, equipment, technology or key hires that may be necessary to advance your business for 2017.

Sept 9, 2016

By: Chelsea Haley, DKI Ventures, LLC

As we approach the 15th anniversary of 9/11, that traumatic day that changed many lives, we can’t help but think about the effects it has/had on us and our business. We’re in the business of restoration, which not only entails repairing property, but most importantly, restoring the lives of those affected by a disaster. When a disaster occurs, we always place the needs of the customer first. Use the below as a reminder each time you accept a new loss (project).

What is the need?

Sure, by appearance, the need is to repair the property damages incurred. Yet, sometimes, your service may expand further to the emotional and mental position of your customer(s), directly. By simply restoring their property, the customer may be grateful, but may not remember you for future circumstances. In order to make the customer last, you should put him/her first.

Get to know your customer(s). What are they experiencing; what kind of emotional tolls?

Offer personal assistance.

Preparation is key in any event. It can reduce the extent of a loss, the costs and emotional tolls sustained, or even prevent one altogether. Take the time to inform your customers of the actions they can take to prevent another loss. If you see a glaring problem with their foundation or property, mention it and provide your suggestions for other preparation and safety methods.

Be sympathetic.

Remember, disasters can happen unexpectedly and can, within moments, change a person’s life. Your customer may be entirely unfamiliar with the situation at hand. So, be understanding when speaking to them about the restoration process, insurance claims, etc. Don’t get frustrated if you need to repeat something, or restate in a different way. It’s important to continue to communicate everything with your customer; just be patient.

Sept 2, 2016

By: Chelsea Haley, DKI Ventures, LLC

Following the latest with Hurricane Hermine, the first hurricane Florida has seen since Wilma 11 years ago, it was predicted that storm surge would create the most threatening impacts along the coastal areas of the state.

Storm surge, abnormally high water (waves) generated by a storm, is produced by forceful winds from a storm pushing the water toward the shore, often resulting in coastal flooding. This can cause normally dry areas to be inundated with flooding.

Here’s a scary fact: A storm surge of 23 feet has the ability to inundate:

• 67% of interstates
• 57% of arterial roads
• Approximately half of rail miles
• 29 airports
• Almost all ports in the Gulf Coast area

(CCSP SAP 4-7; NHC)

As we have seen recently, storm surge can happen quickly and sometimes unexpectedly, not allowing much time to prepare. Residents living near the coastline should prepare well in advance as soon as they are notified of a potential hurricane. Most warnings are given 48 hours in advance, which allows time to collect food and water, and find shelter.

Remember what Florida Gov. Rick Scott said, “You can rebuild a home. You can rebuild property. You cannot rebuild a life.”

Follow these tips to prepare for possible storm surge:

• Check your property for any threats to flooding. Lock and board up all doors and windows. Secure your belongings, and bring inside those from the outside.
• Take advantage of sandbags being sold in your community. These can prevent water from entering your home or place of business.
• Have an evacuation plan with all of your employees. This may include closing business, or setting employees up to work remotely.
• Build or restock your emergency kit.
  • Water – You should have one gallon per person per day, PLUS extra for sanitation use.
  • Non-perishable food – Keep enough for at least five days for each person.
  • Toilet paper, personal hygiene items, etc.
  • First aid kit (including medications and employees’ prescriptions)
  • Clothing
  • Blankets
  • Flashlights
  • Batteries
  • Important documents: insurance, medical information, files you may need to stay away from your business for several days, etc.

• Most importantly, if you are ordered to evacuate by state or local officials, do so as quickly as possible. Heavy traffic can cause significantly longer travel times, and you want to ensure everyone is safely relocated as soon as possible.
• Continue to tune into local radio or television stations. Listen carefully for any advisories or instructions from local officials.