If you’re a long-time listener, you know that I’ve been in the process of moving Carr Machine & Tool. This is the first move I’ve made in my career and probably the last. But why? Because I understand the power of branding and design well. I know that existing and future clients are going to be more sophisticated and they will want to partner with similar brands. I also want to attract and...
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A sales leader on Jason’s team thought it would be a great idea to focus on networking as a way to find sales opportunities. So Jason let him join different associations and attend events to try and drum up business. But it wasn’t producing the results that they expected, so they cut back on the networking. The question is—should increasing sales be the true objective of networking? Jim...
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If someone is new to the manufacturing industry, how do they acclimate to the industry and begin to build authenticity and credibility? How do they learn the ropes and become familiar with the necessary lingo?
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Nick Sainati was living in Seattle with his wife and daughter when the unthinkable happened: his perfectly healthy and active father was diagnosed with cancer. Faced with selling the family business to receive cancer treatment, Nick’s father asked him to take over his machine shop. Four months later, Nick and his family moved back to Chicago to take over Belden Universal. Belden Universal was...
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CMMC stands for Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification. Most people in manufacturing are familiar with ITAR (International Traffic in Arms). ITAR was a self-certification where you pay to certify and commit to being safe and secure with documents to make sure someone who isn’t a US citizen doesn’t see that data. But it wasn’t good enough. We’re always hearing about countries trying to...
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A huge percentage of manufacturing companies are owned by Baby Boomers that are moving up in years. As they’re nearing retirement, many are contemplating selling their shops. If you’re in that boat, how can you prepare for the sale? What can be done to make your machine shop more attractive to buyers? Paul Van Metre—the former President of Pro CNC and Co-Founder of ProShop ERP—shares that...
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It is no secret that the manufacturing industry in the U.S.A. has seen better days. After years of fighting overseas manufacturers for work, this current recession has been the impending nail in the coffin for some. Most machine shops and manufacturing facilities in the U.S. were built in the same way: with blood, sweat, and tears. The grit required to survive in manufacturing tends to weed...
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Change is never easy. That is something that everybody acknowledges in theory. But you never internalize it. When change is staring you in the face, you buckle under its immense pressure and you run back to your comfort zones. I know I do. But in the few instances I didn’t, I managed to turn my whole life upside down. The reason you’re seeing a new face in this boring bar is a direct result of...
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On the topic of leaving a legacy, Warren Buffett once wrote, “Someone is sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.”
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I’ve got a big birthday coming up and, facing this milestone, I decided I’d try to shed a few of my “quarantine 15” pounds and get myself back into fighting shape.
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Brace yourself for what I am about to reveal: I have a master of fine arts degree in creative writing with a concentration in poetry.
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Apparently I wasn’t the only listener who felt inspired while listening to Jim Carr talk about the updates CARR Machine & Tool adopted in order to pivot from prototypes to becoming a full production machine shop. We’ve gotten a lot of positive feedback and follow up from our MakingChips audience. If you missed that episode, you can find it here.
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