Confidentiality agreements protect more than your assets. Just as importantly, they protect your customers.
Some of you might recall a column I published last November that addressed how to keep contract customers out of your production area in order to protect your work. This week's column looks at the other side of the same coin -- employee confidentiality agreements. These are legal agreements that are intended to keep your employees from talking about who's placing orders, for what quantities and dollars, what's being produced and who the end-user might.
September 15, 2008
Charging for rush service is justifiable, but be sure to outline policies upfront and inform your customers.
The issues of whether and what to charge for rush service are common in the decorated apparel industry and there are valid arguments on all sides. Most companies feel they’re entitled to some degree of additional compensation for going our of their way to accommodate a rush order, for bumping other customers a notch or two back in the production line and for having to deal with the potential hazards of doing something faster than necessary. Oh, and the more sanguine reason: you can, if you choose, stick it to ’em when they’re on the ropes.
August 29, 2008
Thanks to Uncle Sam, you can deduct certain trade show and conference expenses from your income tax filing. Learn what’s deductible — and what’s not.
Imagine an enjoyable — and educational — vacation with Uncle Sam picking up part of the tab. That's right, every decorated apparel business, the owner and employees of that business (even someone who is a shareholder/employee), can legitimately claim an income tax deduction for the expenses paid or incurred in attending trade shows, conventions and meetings.
August 18, 2008
Embroiderers, screen printers and promotional products distributors can profit from breaks in the tax code to educate their employees and themselves.
Finding, hiring, training and retaining “smart” workers have long been key factors in the success of small businesses, including decorated apparel companies. Lawmakers have also recognized the importance of a smarter workforce and created a number of educational and training-related tax breaks and incentives. Those tax benefits allow every commercial embroidery, screen printing and promotional products business, large or small, to offer training and education as a “fringe benefit.”
August 04, 2008
Decorators interested in expanding their business or replacing old equipment can rejoice in the new round of government incentives designed to help small business owners.
Earlier this year, Congress passed, and the President signed, the Economic Stimulus Package of 2008, a $168 billion economic “rescue” package that included rebates for taxpayers and tax breaks for businesses. In addition to those tax rebates, the heart of the package, there also were tax breaks for businesses such as decorated apparel operations — breaks retroactive to the beginning of 2008!
July 21, 2008
Recognizing the source of cash flow problems in your screen printing or embroidery business is one thing, doing something about them is another. Here's how.
In Part I, "Cash Flow Blues," we looked at how screen printing and embroidery businesses get into cash flow ruts and introduced you to the evil Cash Flow Monster. Now we'll explore eight specific steps to learn how to gain the favor and blessings of the Positive Cash Flow (PCF) Fairy.
July 07, 2008
Cash is king. Learning how to manage it is the key to profitability in good times and bad.
The impact of cash flow pressure, usually when the heat's on from suppliers and banks, is by no means limited just to our industry. It affects small companies, particularly family-owned companies, in all businesses.
June 20, 2008
Here are the answers to four of the most important questions regarding your rights to intellectual properties such as artwork, screens, digitizing, CAD-cut images and laser images.
Among the major questions I didn't address in Who Owns It? — Part 1 are several I'm often asked about. In the following, Q&A, I describe each of those key questions and provide answers that should help you determine how to avoid legal entanglements and deal with these situations if they arise.
June 09, 2008
Artwork, screens, digitizing, CAD-cut images and laser images are all subject to ownership questions. Knowing your rights to such intellectual properties will help you avoid misunderstandings and improve customer relationships.
A customer has asked you to create graphics, do digitizing or perform some other preproduction functions for what you'll be screen printing, embroidering, laser engraving or CAD-cutting.
May 22, 2008
A review of online embroidery prices may help you determine whether your prices are too low, too high or just right.
Wouldn't it be nice to know what contract embroidery companies around the country are charging for their services to the trade so that you can determine whether your prices are competitive? Well, it's easy to find out by simply investing a few minutes on Google, as I did in researching this column. To say the least, the scope of trade pricing is rather broad.
May 12, 2008
With price hikes already occurring at the wholesale level, price hikes on decorated goods are inevitable. Here's what you can expect in the weeks ahead and how you can raise prices without squeezing your margins.
Price increases from the industry's wholesalers are in effect, including the tallest hikes in quite a while on basics. Some apparel decorators are grumbling, while others see it as an opportunity to add a few points to their own margins. And those in-between just grin and bear it.
April 29, 2008
Any economic downturn will affect some businesses more than others. Here's how you can make the best of the situation.
In "Crisis vs. Opportunity, Part 1," we advanced the case that regardless of what lies ahead for the North American economy in the next year or two, apparel decorators will weather it largely intact, and that those who can use it to their advantage will weather it rather well!
April 14, 2008
You already know that the general state of the economy's not good, but the reality for apparel decorators may not be as bad as for other businesses.
The Chinese character for crisis, wi j+ (Figure A), in Mandarin, looks similar to the Chinese character for opportunity, or j+ huay (Figure B). This similarity, in addition to other factors I'll leave to the linguistic experts to argue over, has led to the mistaken notion that in Chinese culture, a crisis is regarded not merely as a danger but also as an opportunity.
John F. Kennedy, Richard M. Nixon and, most recently, Condoleezza Rice and Al Gore number among those who have misused what Victor H. Mair, Professor of Chinese Language and Literature, University of Pennsylvania, describes as a "grossly inaccurate formulation." Even Homer Simpson once joined in the game, coining the word "cris-atunity."
March 31, 2008
Wage differentials should be based on criteria that clearly and fairly define the employee's value to the company.
What makes some employees more worthy of higher wages than others? It’s not gender, religion, race or other unlawful forms of discriminations. It’s the employee's economic value to the company, most of which derives directly from skills the employee offers his employer.
March 17, 2008
Because no company is the same, each will set its own priorities and determine what skills count for measuring employee performance.
In "Evaluating and Compensating Production Employees, Part IV, ], we discussed the need to establish production output standards, proactively monitor employee performance and production rates, and develop skill-level classifications. Let’s look at creating those skill-level groupings and tying wages to performance. Every company has its own priorities here as to what skills count at each level. But here are a few examples to help you understand how to get started on your way.
March 03, 2008
Critical to establishing wage ranges is knowing what your company’s production rates are and how well an employee performs relative to these statistics.
In "Evaluating and Compensating Production Employees, Part III," we described the benefits of conducting employee reviews for both the company and the individual as well as creating a numerical-grade system to provide you and your employee with an effective and easy mechanism for establishing and maintaining a proactive evaluation system.
February 15, 2008
The issues an employee review must address boils down to answering the seven key questions an employee will want and need to know about his performance.
In the previous installment of this series, we explored implementing an Employee Review System that you can use to evaluate employee performance. Let’s turn now to scheduling employee interviews and what specific issues you should address.
February 04, 2008
Establishing specific criteria for pay scales defines goals for production employees and provides a fair and equitable framework for compensating them.
Under what circumstances should an employee be awarded a raise? Whatever the circumstances are, the company should have firm — written — policies about raises and fundamental expectations about the employee's value and performance on the job.
January 18, 2008
How do you nurture a happy and productive workforce? One proven way is with an employee manual that outlines policies and basic expectations as well as criteria for getting a raise.
I remember, as a 9th grader, facing for the first time in my life my first real boss giving me my first performance evaluation. Having three months of evening and Saturday work under my belt, this 80-cents-an-hour stock boy at Hobbyland in Philadelphia in 1962 was being reviewed by the boss. I was excited and terrified.
January 07, 2008
No matter how decorators say they have boosted revenue, it all boils down to one basic business initiative — marketing.
It's Milestone Time again — the third annual Impressions Decorated Apparel Universe Study, the industry's most diligent effort at measuring industry trends, participants' aspirations, the dynamics of change, and their causes and effects, along with a host of other interesting information.
December 17, 2007
In the decorated apparel industry, it’s only too easy to unknowingly violate copyright law. Do you have a policy to protect you from such occurrences?
A good customer places an order that requires you to digitize and embroider the likeness of a popular cartoon figure on 72 golf shirts for a school fundraiser. You know that the art includes a copyrighted work, however, and like most ethical, intelligent professional embroiderers, you politely tell her you cannot perform the order without her providing you written documentation that she’s authorized to use and sell the work in question — even with all her verbal assurances that there’s nothing to worry about and that you’ll be “protected.”
December 03, 2007
Beyond the wall that separates your front office from your shop floor lies a treasure trove of information, just waiting for an unscrupulous customer to carry it away.
A prospective customer, let’s call him Jack, calls and wants to send some work your way. But before he does, he’d like to see your facility. You’re used to this request, and you understand Jack’s motivation to check out your place with his own eyes. Eager to secure both his business and confidence, you invite him over.
November 19, 2007
Follow these four easy steps to reach doctors, lawyers, accountants and other professional high-end clients.
Twenty-some years ago I commented to newcomers attending my workshops at decorated apparel trade shows that our industry sells custom-decorated workwear and leisurewear “to virtually everyone — except maybe doctors, lawyers and accountants.” The exceptions quickly disappeared as decorated apparel made its mark in the professional world, where its denizens wear embellished garments on the job and off.
November 05, 2007
Selling more by expanding your product arsenal doesn’t require transforming your high-volume shop. In fact, you’re already more prepared than you might think to add alternative decorating processes.
In this era of increased competition and constrained profit margins, is there a way to boost sales and profits — without adding promotional products? My answer is a resounding yes.
October 22, 2007
Decorators beware! Scam artists are becoming increasingly devious — and their intent is nothing less than bilking you out of your hard-earned money.
If you sell T-shirts, YOU are next in line to be scammed if you haven't already been. Scammers seeking quotes on blank shirts have unfortunately scored from coast to coast.
October 08, 2007
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Apparel Decorating Equipment Information That Matters
An apparel decoration business relies on sturdy, well-made equipment to handle the workload of decorating hundreds of articles of clothing a day. Because there is no room for down-time in the apparel decorating business, only the best equipment and methods should be used. Learn all about the best apparel decorating equipment and methods from the industry’s most trusted resource — Impressions.
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