Is This My Client?

Chris Smith smartPRENEUR Blog Series

Decisions, Decisions You can’t be all things to all people. Selecting the right client(s) and right project(s) will result in a profitable business. The opposite is also true – painfully true!  Consuming your time with the wrong client(s) prevents you from being able to take the right client(s) and project(s). This is known as “Opportunity Cost”.  Ask These Questions Does ...

Service Pre-Authorization

Chris Smith smartPRENEUR Blog Series

Is Your Service Profitable? As I meet with integrators it is usually a struggle for most to make money on their projects. For those that have actually cleared that first profit hurdle it is almost always countered by a severe lack of profitability on their service offering. In nearly all cases integrators are literally bleeding profitability on the service side ...

Service Plans – Things to Consider

Chris Smith smartPRENEUR Blog Series

I have watched as integrators overcomplicate the process of creating a service plan. Answering a few key questions will help to define the framework of your offering and be better able to price it accurately. Keep it simple! Seriously, one page, plain English, one price point (% of System Price), and non-optional. General Timing: Days/Hours of Operation Response Times: Acknowledgement ...

Being A Pro

Chris Smith smartPRENEUR Blog Series

What qualities would someone have to have for you to consider them a professional, or pro, in the consumer electronics industry? A quick Google search of “professional defined” reveals a very low bar: “Competent, Skillful, Assured ... Engaged in a specified activity as one’s main paid occupation rather than as a pastime.”  Really!? That’s all it takes?  As the former ...

Hiring Process

Chris Smith smartPRENEUR Blog Series

Who is your best hire? Have you ever made a bad hire? Have you repeated that mistake? More than once? Making hiring mistakes are costly to both your business and employees. It’s a time suck, money suck, the onboarding is painful, unemployment payout, the morale of your team, shaken confidence in leadership, retention of your existing staff, and all of ...

Crucial KPI’s

Chris Smith smartPRENEUR Blog Series

Wishful Thinking In my previous role as the CEO of an integration firm I tried my best to keep an eye on the fundamentals of the business. I tried to use “the numbers” to paint a picture and help guide decision making. I took to sharing our results with fellow integrators as a way of understanding our business within the ...