17 minute read
Tomato Paste Leadership: Part Two
Tomato Paste Leadership Part Two: Are you Ready to Build your Business?
by Domenic Chiarella, 7 of 7 BEST Business and Life Strategies, LLC
-Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland
Starting and knowing you are going in the right direction are the most difficult parts of any project or business.
In the Italian world: How do you prepare tomato jars and cappuccinos?
In the business world: How do you start growing your company? And make more profit?
Many moons ago, my partner and I were searching for a way to take our company from a mom/pop company to a fullfledged business.
We would go to all the associations and talk to so many business owners. But I would see the same problem; not enough time, not enough of me to go around, and certainly not enough money for 7 days a weekday and night “career”.
For ten long years our sales didn’t go above $750K.
We needed so many more days every week. We were working our tails off – fine when you’re starting out - but it was becoming very frustrating and extremely chaotic.
It was a business, where we were doing everything, managing everyone, starting very early in the morning, going all day, and then (if I was lucky) I’d catch a quick dinner with my family, say "I love you", and then straight back in to the office for a night of work.
I didn’t believe that this was what I’d signed on for. This frustration made me have an “enough” moment – I tell you; I was a wreck. I wasn’t prepared to take it anymore. I was going to find the solutions.
We knew the owner of one of the largest landscape companies in Connecticut and we asked him out of the kindness of his heart to meet with us for breakfast.
So here we are, two hard working Italian men, in our green garbage men outfits, construction boots, driving in our Datsun 1-ton pickup truck, meeting the owner of one of the biggest companies around.
We were dazzled as he drove up, got out of his Cadillac, in a suit and tie, and sat down with us. "Holy shit" was all I could think. He gave us the gospel of business according to Ed. And he parted with a recommendation: Read the book The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It.
This book led me to the E-Myth program: Business Vocational Masters. It taught me not just the how and the what of business, but the WHY.
Why is one of the most important parts for me of the program. It was finding out who I am and how I live as a man, father, and business owner. These were called the primary aims. You learned about them in Tomato Paste Leadership Part One.
The E-Myth also helped me understand and translate these primary aims into the values / culture of the company. And these values turned in a document that help me lead a business from a $750K company to a $15M company.
And it all started with:
Strategic Objective
A Strategic Objective is the first step for your business to make your vision and your dreams become reality.
A Strategic Objective is the clear written statement of what your organization will look, taste, smell and sound like, and how everyone acts in the FUTURE.
Speaking to over 3,000 people and coaching over 15 business owners, there is one question that every entrepreneur / creative has asked.
The question? “Why do we need a strategic objective?”
The answer is that a written strategic objective will provide your organization a sense of direction and a way for the organization to act, a way to think, and a way to achieve your goals for the future. I am talking about a written statement, not a verbal strategy to your organization.
It is the start of all good to great businesses, because one, unless your employees, your vendors, your associates, and your clients read your mind, they will not understand or know what your vision is for the future.
These owners would say, “everyone should see what I am doing, how I am acting, what I say to clients / employees”. Yeah, just ask someone in the organization and see what they say... A Strategic Objective comes from you and your primary aims. It is THE starting point for your decision-making, planning, and what systems your organization develops. It is a written document for the owners to lead with, and for the organization to be able to work towards.
Think about it like this: If you were building a house would you just pay some tradespeople to show up and start working. Tell the builder, the plumber and the electrician that you want a house and then just let them go to work? You wouldn’t because that would be absolutely crazy. I doubt that there is ever a house built in the world that doesn’t start with an image of what it’ll look like when it’s finished and some written plans. If there is, I certainly don’t want to live in any of that house.
So why is it when business owners get to work, we just tend to wing it? Building a successful business is much more complicated than building a house, yet most business owners try to do it without plans every day. Since we want to build a successful business… one that doesn’t collapse or trap us inside for the rest of our life… we’re going to start with a plan.
And that’s exactly what our strategic objective is. A plan of what our business will look like when it’s “finished.”
I have a simple way to look at writing a strategic objective. It is a one-pager. Just use the following pronouns and voilà, a plan!!!
- Who:Who are we as a company and who are our clients? - What:What do we provide to our clients? - When:When will be the business we foresee the future? Ex. We will be a $5M company by 2025. - Where are we located? Where are clients located? - And Why: Our values, our culture, how we live and act.
That’s it!!!!
Now, I know what you’re really want to know more: Let’s continue the process of jarring tomatoes.
We left off with the grinding and the separation of the skins / seeds and the pulp / flesh of the tomatoes.
The halved tomatoes are ready for the grinder. The pulp is ground out of the tomatoes and this process is repeated four times to remove every bit of flesh of the pulp. We take the pulp and start the process of putting the pulp into a prepared mason jar.
A prepared mason jar is a clean jar that will have a bit of salt and fresh basil on the bottom.
And while Rachael, Toni, and Jessica prepare the basil and jars...Daisy and Jessica ladle the sauce into the jars as the leader, Annunziata mentors.
And Annuciatina is always QC’ing. Always.
The final preparation of the jars will be to add a bit more salt and a few sprigs of basil. Make sure the jar mouth is clean of any debris before sealing the top of the jar. Tightening the top of the jar is very important. The sauce will become sour if air can make it into the jar.
There is a so much more to leadership:
What do you do with your primary aims? How do you translate your primary aims into values / culture and how do you create a more successful business for all involved with the strategic objective? And how do you become the leader that fulfills everyone’s success?
And there is so much more to finish the jarring tomatoes process:
What do you do with all the tomatoes, the basil, and the salt in the jars? How do you get to the successful delicious sauce from the century old recipe? Want to know more? Stay tuned for Part 3 of Tomato Paste Leadership.
For more than 40 years, Domenic has served as Director of Operations and as Director of Business Development at one of the most creative and collaborative organizations in the New York and Connecticut areas, Ultimate Services Professional Grounds Management Inc.
He is what people call a perpetual student. An alumnus from the University of Connecticut with a BS in Computer Science and the University of Florence, Italy with a BA in Italian. And then at a ripe young age of 53 returning to the halls of higher learning of Fairleigh Dickinson University with a Master Degree in Administrative Services.
News Briefs Contractor Focus: CLC Landscape Design
Ringwood Water Garden
Rich Cording, Sr. founded CLC Landscape Design on the belief that Great Landscapes Begin with Great Design Ideas. Within one company he combined the vision of the landscape architect and the craftsmanship of the landscape contractor. This concept of design/build landscaping produces superior landscapes because the designer’s vision is implemented by a team of craftsmen trained in installing his landscapes. The success of CLC’s design/build method is evident by the numerous testimonials from thrilled clients and number of prestigious landscaping awards they have won.
Coined in 1973, the name “CLC” comes from the names Cording, Laster, and Cording – those being Rich Sr., one of his best high school friends Art Laster, and Rich Sr.'s wife. Today, CLC Landscape Design is run by Rich Sr., Rich Jr., and the wonderful employees that have made CLC their home for many years.
By including “Design” in their name from the very beginning, Rich Sr. wanted to make CLC Landscape Design a design-driven company. "What that means," says Rich Jr., "is that throughout everything we do, including during the installation-phase and maintenance-phase of a landscape project, we are always honoring and embracing great landscape design concepts."
Rich Cording, Sr., LLA, ASLA, CNLP is a licensed landscape architect who founded CLC Landscape Design over 40 years ago. He oversees each landscape design, meets with clients, trains employees, and coordinates the production schedule.
Rich Cording, Jr., MLD, an Eagle Scout, studied at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts and Oxford University in England. He served as a US Navy officer on board the USS JOHN S. McCAIN (DDG-56) stationed in Tokyo, Japan. After those adventures, he completed his graduate work at Columbia University in New York City earning a Master of Landscape Design. At CLC, he works alongside his father, involved in all aspects of the business, from landscape design to project management.
After achieving a B.S. degree from Bloomsburg University, Eric Cording joined his brother and father, working in the construction division of CLC Landscape Design. He then earned a Landscape Design Certificate from Rutgers University, and for the last few years has been in charge of sales and designs. Eric and his father work with their team of seven full-time landscape architects and landscape designers to produce the majority of CLC’s finest work.
In case you are wondering, Art Laster (The “L” in CLC) has followed his passion for plants and created Plant Detectives (also an NJLCA member), a retail and wholesale nursery located in Chester, NJ, that offers the most beautiful landscape plants! Art personally selects the beautiful plants that CLC installs and he keeps them updated on the newest plants so they are always offering cutting-edge plant varieties. Rich Jr.'s mother has also followed her passion for children and teaching, where she now teaches 8th grade mathematics at a local school.
For more info, visit www.clcdesign.com.
News Briefs Associate Focus: Frank's Truck Center
Frank Pezzolla, Sr. - Founder (left) with 2 employees - Circa 1930 Credit: Frank's GMC
Ben Pezzolla, (the grandfather of Frank Pezzolla, Jr., President of Frank's GMC) brought his family from the city to the country - Lyndhurst was the country then - in the latter part of the 19th Century and opened his modest "smith" business as the Twentieth Century dawned.
He built a home for his family on "the hill" with stones that he pulled from the Meadows and he fashioned his American dream on the back of his one man shop. There, in summer heat and wintry blasts, he held court, talking over the news of the day with neighbors and customers.
Ben never expanded his business, as with the advance of the horseless carriage, it became a dying trade. His son Frank, disciplined and steeled by the dedication and hard work of his parents, started his own business in 1930 when he rented an old, out-of-repair garage on Ridge Road in Lyndhurst. Like his father before him, his was a one man shop at the outset. At this garage, drafty and icy in the winter, an inferno in the summer heat, he worked day and night to build a business.
Unlike his father, Frank was preparing to rise with an industry that would reach enormous heights in the Twentieth Century. It was a bitter struggle at first. He worked hard to catch the crest of that wave and in two years he was able to acquire an old Buick that could be fitted with towing devices. He dug a pit with his own hands and fashioned steel ramps to set cars over while he repaired them from inside the pit. The metal turning knowledge that he picked up from his father had become quite an asset.
He made a critical decision when he decided to concentrate on trucks, believing that truckers needing to keep their business going would turn to him, knowing that he would be open day and night. For, he was always been willing to work as long as it took to get them on the road again. By 1937, Frank, Sr. was awarded a GMC franchise.
Expanding through the years with the help of his three sons, the business - known as Frank's GMC Truck Center - eventually moved in 1978 to a modern facility that they presently occupy on Orient Way in Lyndhurst.
Where once there was one employee, there are now over 100. Successful and well run by a third generation,
Frank's still operates by a code of conduct and ethics driven by an immigrant spirit and an indomitable faith. For over 80 years, they have built a reputation on honesty, fairness and quality service, storing up a lot of good will. The spirit of the blacksmith and founder still runs in their veins. It's this spirit that is the life source of their company where everyone is treated like family, where community and commitment to others matters, and where honesty, integrity and the 'best possible service' are operational mandates and not just words. Frank's Truck Center, where our NJLCA contact Charlie Opalach hails, proudly carries Hino & Isuzu trucks in their inventory and have both Cab/Chassis and Van Truck models. The dealership also has service, parts and financing departments on site. Frank's Truck Center specializes in commercial trucks and have a large commercial truck parts department. Visit www.frankstruckcenter.com for more info.
Charlie Opalach, Sales Representative for Frank's Truck Center says, "Buy a truck!" Photo courtesy of Frank's GMC
News Briefs Back to School: Service Project in Fairfield, NJ
When past President of the NJLCA, Tom Canete proposed a service project at the school his son Jake attends, how could the Service Project Committee say no? Tom and his crews have assisted on every service project we have completed in the past ten years and anyone who knows his family knows how much they give back to their community and friends.
As Tom explained it, the playground at The Gramon School in Fairfield, NJ was having severe drainage issues, which caused large pools of water to form where the grass met the pavement, making both areas unusable for the students to play on during recess after a rainy day. The school was also looking to upgrade the property and install a greenhouse, re-mulch their playground equipment area and repair an uneven field. They were planning to install a few umbrellas and tables on an unused area of the field as well.
In typical NJLCA fashion, our “Day of Service” did turn into several “DayS of Service”, but the project was entirely worthwhile.
Thirteen companies volunteered and twenty-one companies donated material and equipment to complete this project, which is an estimated $90,000-100,000 project with time and materials.
Several major sections were completed, with Tom Canete and Dave Dacosta overseeing the project (and providing comic relief)! Paul Hewitt oversaw most of the drainage work as well.
Section 1: Revision of Drainage - Nearly 500 ft. of 8" reduced to 4" SDR drain pipe was installed from the side of and along the entire back of the playground to two 18" x 18" concrete catch basins. Encountered a 12" thick existing catch basin, which had to be hammered through to get to the other side. Deepest section was over 8' deep.
by Gail Woolcott, NJLCA Executive Director
New catch basin installed
Section 2: Area for Outdoor Classes and Lunch - Installed a 1,000 sq. ft. patio with three shade trees for setting tables and chairs upon. Pavers were Cambridge Ledgestone 16 x 24 Smooth Sahara Chestnut. Several companies, including Exclusive Stoneworks and Wayne Jepsen Landscaping installed the patio over two days, including excavation, grading, prepping, installation, cutting and sweeping in sand.
Paver area before
Drainage excavation
Paver area after
Section 3: Greenhouse - Grading of and prep for a large cement pad for the Greenhouse to sit on and greenhouse build (being installed first week of November).
Greenhouse pad
Section 4: Raised garden beds - When we first arrived, we didn't even know there were beds in there! Clean up and prep of raised beds.
Raised gardens before
Raised gardens after
Donors
Al D. Landscape Supply - Rototiller All Service Equipment - Hammer Drill, Compressor and Compactor B & B Organic Recycling - Topsoil and Mulch Bergen Siteworks - RCA Bobcat of North Jersey - Excavator Braen Supply - Asphalt, Stone Dust and Polymeric Sand Cambridge Pavingstones - 1000 sf pavers Canete Garden Center - Quarry Process, Asphalt and Trucking Dan Como & Sons - Quarry Process Downes Forest Products - Topsoil Michells - Portion of Greenhouse Morris Brick and Stone - Paver Edging & Spikes NJLCA - Portajohns, Food, Drink and Concrete Peerless Concrete - Concrete Catch Basins RER Supply - Playground Mulch and Debris Hauling SiteOne Landscape Supply - Drainage and Trees Synatek Solutions - Seed, Hydromulch and Fertilizer
Volunteers Bergen Community College Canete Landscape CK Paving Exclusive Stoneworks Green Meadows Landscape Hewitt Landscape Horizon Landscape Kindergan Landscaping VIP Landscape Wayne Jepsen Landscape Wayne Wholesale Fertilizer Yellow Wagon Landscaping
Section 5: Two playground areas - Re-mulched with over 100 yards of playground mulch between the two. Playground 1 - Repaired and mulched Playground 2 - Repaired and mulched
Section 6: Field - Entire field was regraded to remove low spots by relocating top soil and adding where needed. Entire area of 14,000 sq. ft. was hydroseeded.
Section 7: Asphalt – To complete fixing the drainage issues, 2,200 square feet of asphalt was laid to refinish and
Asphalt being laid
extend the area where the basketball hoops are.
Completed asphalt
