Tradition vs. Technology  If a family-run small business survives long enough, the reality of generational transition must be faced and worked through. Since selling my facility in 2019, I have had the opportunity to work with hundreds of recyclers from all over the world - and I have seen a wide variety of effects of generational transition in almost every operation. I’ve seen patriarchs that have refused to ‘hand over the reins’.  I have also seen the incoming generation ‘drop the ball’ and cause the business to fail.  I could write for days about issues that exist in family-run businesses, but today’s article is going to be focussed on the adoption of technology during generational shifts.  The Automotive Recycling Industry has been a very lucrative segment of the overall automotive industry for well over a century.  It has not required a lot of education, ability, or technology in order to provide an acceptable income for many generations.  A strong wor...

Discouragement is the starvation of imagination. Does discouragement lead to a lack of imagination OR does the lack of imagination result in discouragement. Either way, we MUST remain imaginative during these times. Since its inception, the Automotive Recycling Industry has survived every economic downturn in the history of man. As a matter of fact, our industry actually grows during downturns in the economy. Once the Lockdown of 2020 ends, we will see an economy that will slowly return to normal - over a two year period. But, during that recovery period, people will be very hesitant to spend major amounts of money. We will see a prolonged dip in new car sales which will generate a major upswing in the utilization of Recycled Original Equipment (ROE) parts in the mechanical repair process. We are also hearing that insurance companies have concerns about the New OEM supply chain being affected for months and months following the Lockdown of 2020. They, the insurers, are now looking t...

Every dollar of expenses reduces your Net Profit by the same amount. Conversely, every dollar of expenses that is reduced increases Net Profits by the same amount. Are you struggling to be profitable? Increase profit by reducing expenses. How can I reduce my expenses without sacrificing quality of service to my customers? Let’s dig into that question and see what can be done. Recurring Bills Each of us have recurring bills that we simply pay out of ‘habit’ each month. I’m talking about bills from you YMS Provider, a third-party software solution, a utility bill, and lease payment, and rental agreement, etc - you get the idea. There are certain bills that get paid each month without reviewing them - simply because of who they are from. It’s time to review these bills. Look for increased fees or increased rates that you did not agree to. Pull out the same bill from 12 months ago - is this year’s bill higher? Did you authorize them to charge you a higher rate? Spend the time, make a ca...