My Double Life

Only recently have I thought of my business life as going down two different paths, but, from the perspective of the customer, the paths have two very different destinations.

On the CEU side, I see the target as you being blown away by our classes. (www.ceuwow.com) We try to engage through asking a lot of questions, using surprise to teach and using different media to get across ideas. We want to be idiosyncratic with the idea that you will love us and come back again and again.

But, I also own an irrigation company. (www.rainstat.com)

And yes, we want people to love us, but on a different level. Beginning when we answer the phone, there's no theatrics. There's not even a hint of anything outside of "get your head in the game, fix this thing and get out." (all we do is repairs and upgrades)

And that's the two choices with any business isn't it.

One is to WOW and be effective and different--even fun, entertaining, having an emotional element.

And the other is to reduce the pain as quickly and painlessly as possible.

Right?

Designing the CAD Class

The past four days I've been hold up in a hotel in Fort Worth with one purpose in mind: Designing a CAD class that was something other than the same ol' type of class. I thought of every detail and every skill-set we wanted to convey and wrote it down on a Post-It note. I used the hotel's wall to start placing these benchmarks in order (right) and started the task of building slides to support it.

I hope you'll join us when we come to your town and let me know how we're doing. We are trying to make this class engaging and an experience that you will remember for a long time.

Remember this is specific to RainCAD's Pro Contractor Studio. It is not transferable to RainCAD 10. Call if you have questions: 866.728.9834 or doug.s@ceuwow.com.

Surprising Best Tool for Pro Contractor Studio

Just press an arrow key and magic happens. At least if you're comparing your productivity to getting out the pencil, ruler and compass. That's because arrow keys invoke a tool on RainCAD's Pro Contractor Studio's CAD program they refer to as "point polar." If you're familiar with RainCAD's other editions, it would be something like the Drafting tool.

The arrow keys don't "do" in that they don't really move the cursor. But press any one of the keys and Pro Contractor Studio brings up "Point Polar," which looks something like a field compass (as opposed to drawing compass). "North" is 90º, south is 270º. Now all you need to do is enter the number of feet you want the line to be drawn and press the Enter Key and, viola! you're line is drawn in that exact direction for that exact number of feet.

I realize that the newbie to CAD might not be all that excited about this, but believe me, mastering it, although not difficult at all, is huge.

ceuWOW's CAD Class teaches this new, robust, and affordable software package to irrigators. If you're in Texas, you know our law has changed to require a scale drawing for every installation. Deviations from the drawing can be made, but they have to be reflected on an updated "as built."

If you'd like to enroll in one of our classes, we will have them in the major market areas. Just check our schedule here.

CAD Class Sheduled for Temple Killeen Harker Heights

ceuWOW will be conducting a Computer Aided Design (CAD) class at the Ewing Irrigation shop in Harker Heights on February 11 and 12th. This two-day class will equip irrigation professionals to use RainCAD's latest tool, ProContractor Studio. RainCAD'sProContractor Studio will allow irrigators to comply with the new rules that went into effect in Texas on January 1, 2009.

It will also give Texas Irrigators the ability to easily prepare multiple layouts, giving their customers more options. This capability can lead to a "good, better, best" marketing plan that businesses have used to put themselves in competition with themselves.

Before ProContractor Studio, RainCAD's software sold for $500 to $900. But, this new program costs $30 per month. John DeCell, the owner of RainCAD, said, "A contractor can use [ProContractor Studio] as much as they want during that month. But if they reach a time during the off-season where they don't need it, they don't pay that month. The next month, they can reactivate." So it's an economical alternative.

If you are an irrigator in the Temple/Killeen/Harker Heights area that wants to bring your tool-set into the twenty-first century, join us on February 11-12. That's a Wednesday and Thursday. Both days are only $275.

You will leave equipped to make professional, beautiful and complete irrigation plans.

Are You Setting Up Your Bussiness to Sell?

I know, I know. You're always looking for customers. May I suggest that you need to be looking for only ONE customer; the one that will eventually buy your business.

In our Business Skills CEU course we talk a lot about the value of your business. We calculate your business' worth as if you were a prospect for purchasing your business. We ask the question, "What is this business worth as an investment?" We do this for two reasons:

• It gives you a good idea of where you are as you build your business.
• You discover if your business is a good investment for you. (By extension, you can look at your business from the eyes of your Ultimate Customer, the person that will eventually buy your business.)

Here's a place to start: Can your business operate without you? Do you have people trained that can repeat your desired outcome day after day? Does everyone know their job? Are the patterns and procedures that generate your desired outcome (excellent installations, perfect repairs, etc.) written down?

Please don't kid yourself into thinking that it can't be done. Not only can it be done, it simply must be done if your business is going to be sellable.

Maybe today would be a good day to do something to attract your Ultimate Customer–your business' new owner.

Repair! Class Advancing

You may know everything there is to know about installing a new sprinkler system. If a call comes in to repair a system that someone else installed, would you feel out of your comfort zone? You are used to your standard valve, controller and methods. Can you open a valve box and instantly recognize the brand of valve? Do you know how to operate that controller? ceuwow has been working on a new class aimed at licensed and non-licensed irrigators that may be good installers but need some help with repair.

Last week, Connie with Ewing in Harker Heights, invited us to a short seminar titled "Basic Irrigation Troubleshooting." (In case you didn't know, our "day job" is repairing sprinkler systems.) Mr. Johnnie Madison Jr., license number LI0000044, was there and (I think) provided the structure for the course. That structure is worth repeating. It gives an order to your thinking when thinking about repair. Here it is:

1. Pressurized water supply
2. Automatic controller
3. Field wiring or hydraulic tubing
4. Automatic control valves
5. Sprinklers
6. Pipe and fittings

In other words, when repairing a system that has stopped working, first go to the water source. Do you have pressure? Is it turned on fully? Master valve? Next, look at the controller . . .

The seminar was very worthwhile. I was surprised that there were several unlicensed technicians. I realize now that I should not have been as they are likely working under the supervision of a licensed irrigator. We will be opening our class up to non-licensed folks as well.

More tomorrow . . .

How to Lapse-Proof Your Irrigator's License

We are working on a plan that will virtually ensure that you never do what I did and let your license lapse. It's a simple plan and it involves a benefit to both of us.

If you will tell us your name, license number and its expiration date, we will notify you of that date on a progressive schedule. Here's the way it will work:

We will send you an email message 90 days before your license expires–just like the State does with your physical, in-the-mail renewal form. But that is all you get from the State.

So we will send you progressive emails at 60 days, 30 days, 14 days, 7 days and 1 day before your license expires.

If you don't know your expiration, we'll look it up for you. You are also giving us permission to keep you updated on our CEU and non-CEU classes for Texas irrigators.