ARTICLE

By Sean Shafer
Business Unit Manager,
Die/Mold Technologies

Even though your business may be profitable today, there are basic assessment criteria that each business owner should consider in order to maximize future returns.

There is no single personal investment strategy that fits all and applies to your business. It takes a lot of research, planning and hard work around your customer focus.

The following are ten points you might want to consider in helping you better manage your die/mold business portfolio.

1. Determine Objectives Why are you in business? What are you trying to accomplish and provide? Who do you want to serve? Where are you attempting to take your enterprise? When do you want to get there?
2. Do the Research—Investigate Before You Invest What is going on with your customers? What are the industry trends, and how is their market being affected? Are they going overseas? Why? Are they staying here? Why? Where are they going to be in five years, and what will they be producing? How do you take advantage of this?
3. Invest in What You Know This is often referred to as “finding your niche.” That does not mean to restrict your operations to serving just one market segment forever, but it does mean to develop a specialty that is easily transferable to many markets. Regardless, be sure to make service paramount.
4. Get Your Financial House in Order

   "Increasing your capability through machine technology and training will pay big dividends."

   Don’t be afraid to invest where you need to invest. Increasing your capability through machine technology and training will pay big dividends.
5. Assess the Risk Where in your business life cycle are you? Is your business young and able to take on risk, or is it mature and risk-averse? Adjust your portfolio of customers to fit your current profile and tailor a plan to suit your needs.
6. Diversify Make sure to also grow your technical capacity to give you options. A good balance is the key to resiliency and weathering the business cycles. You might consider a portfolio of micromachining, multi-shot packaging, medical and defense to offset the more conventional markets like automotive and consumer goods.
7. Understand the Trends and Be Flexible We all know dozens of tool and die shops that “used to be great” until other business elements changed and they looked around and their customers were gone. Rapid and flexible customer response will determine what work you get, not managing your business backlog.
8. Get Help If You Need It If you do not understand and operate under lean manufacturing principles, get educated quickly. Periodically review your business processes. Attend seminars and don’t be afraid of bringing in outside help.
9. Develop a Winning Attitude Incorporate the personality traits of discipline, confidence and patience. Avoid fear and greed. To beat the market you have to be a market leader.
10. Maintain an Edge One opportunity is to attend Makino’s "Built for Die/Mold" Technology Expo. See the back page of this issue for more details on attending. Learn more about how to grow your customer base and be less vulnerable to economic cycles and global competition as an invaluable edge.

Contact Sean at 248-232-6200; E-Mail: Sean.Shafer@Makino.com.