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I'm BAAAAACK In The Saddle Again!#business strategies#entrepreneurs#coffee#life stories



I hope you enjoyed the video! That's how I felt by December of 2007! I was BACK, and I needed to make changes, and I knew it! As I said in my last post, sales were stagnant, I needed to go back to basics. That is the only way I knew to develop a strategy on how I could move this company forward!
I broke down the operation into facets, studied the emerging trends in the industry and came out of it with a plan I was sure would work!
I waited until January and fired my VP of Sales, I replaced him with 2 highly motivated, young sales reps, with MBA's from Babson. If you don't know, Babson's MBA programs are one of the best in the country! I incentivized them so they could earn unlimited income, but, their base was low. You see, if there is one thing I learned in business it is this. If you pay your sales people a base salary that can cover their bills without any incentives, you are probably doing them, you and ultimately the company a huge disservice!
My plan for myself was simple. Now that there was new blood in the organization, and it really rocked the employees, I would focus on growing the business by focusing on consolidating! Yes that's right acquiring existing companies that could either be rolled up into our operation or businesses that got us into markets we weren't already in! It was a new direction, but I had the money, I knew the industry and it was AND, still is hopelessly fragmented!! Just in New England alone, there was approximately 35-40 roasting, distribution or OCS(office coffee services) within a 200 mile radius, and we were all doing the same thing! Beating each other over the head for the same market share. It to me, was completely ridiculous and counter productive. So I started pounding the bricks trying to get others in this business to understand, and either sell or merge with our business. It was great to be back in the saddle again!!
I felt it was time to think out of the box, clearly the old model was broken! I was going to fix that. Out of something horrendous came a new energy, you have to turn a negative into a positive and that's what I was going to do know matter what!
I was back on my journey! I was extremely focused, but, a different man in so many ways. I was stronger!

Again thanks for following this blog! Please spread the word! Any comments would be appreciated!
Joe Leary
I am an active Business consultant, please view my Linkedin profile. If you need help in any area of your business feel free to contact me. I will help you!

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