Garage door industry magazine for garage door dealers, garage door manufacturers, garage door distributors, garage door installers, loading docks, garage door operators and openers, gates, and tools for the door industry.
Issue link: https://idoi.epubxp.com/i/216705
Las Vegas, April 23-26, 2014 Business Succession... Happening Now For Many Reasons PRESIDENT'S COMMENTARY By Bill Gibson, President, International Door Association L isted are some important questions many of my senior door dealer peers are facing: Upon retirement, will I sell my business on the open market? Sell it to family? Sell it to employees or possibly a combination of family and employees? What are the best options available to me? In any case, if you are one of those who soon will be enjoying the good life after a successful career in our industry, you will need a plan. The sooner your plan is started the more time there will be to massage and adjust it. You may have someone on your management team, back offce, or perhaps a production employee who has the desire to excel at the door and access systems business. Regardless of your specifc conditions, IDA can offer constructive ideas and help you focus on your objectives. I was visiting with a longtime friend who has been in our business as many years as I have when the topic turned to what's new in the door business. That got us talking about IDA and the IDAExpo™, in particular. We agreed that we had both been to twenty-fve to thirty IDAExpos during our career. Some of those events were as manufacturer participants and just as many as dealer participants. We realized much of what we experienced was repetitious but, hey, how many ways can one talk about the installation of a garage door or inventory controls or accounting software? Then it hit us, as owners of dealerships, we were both mentors. And, for the past several years we had been bringing our protégé's and management team as well as production and offce staff to those shows. At frst it was to let them see the depth and breadth of our industry and to introduce them to new products and people outside of our particular marketplace. All had one thing in common, the door and access systems business. Had our investment paid off? Absolutely! It can be measured in numbers, in attitude, and in retention. When I examine our business I now realize how many of the changes we've incorporated have come from my partner and our management team. We found a new accounting program at the IDAExpo™ as well as a website developer. There were discussions with fellow door dealers from across the country that opened us up to improvements of our advertising, our preventative maintenance contracts and much more. We learned the basics of developing a piece rate program. When our major supplier dropped their high speed doors 8 International Door & Operator Industry™ we found a replacement at the IDAExpo™. It was a great opportunity to see the product and meet the people behind it. The same was true for gates and gate operators. Our production crews are now IDEA certifed and several are getting cross certifcation. And so it goes, with each and every IDAExpo™ offering more and more. So when I say IDA can provide ideas and focus…that's just a beginning! For example, the Member Services Committee is currently developing a "Young Door Professionals Mentoring Program." For those who are contemplating retirement as I addressed earlier, the 2014 IDAExpo™ will feature workshops providing the foundation and direction for developing a succession plan. So, when you fnd yourself asking "What's new at the IDAExpo™?" think about the people in your organization who will beneft from participating in these valuable business builders. I think you will fnd a new generation of ideas that can be honed to meet your specifc market demands. And, as I did, you might just realize that the successor of your business is standing right next to you. See you in Las Vegas, April 23-26. Para la versión en Español, visitare www.doors.org