Hearthlist Digest #108 - Thursday, February 12, 1998
 
Firewood Jim
  by John Gulland <[email protected]>
Re:CFM Majestic sales
  by Dave Johnston <[email protected]>
Highlights of EXPO '98 Education
  by Susan Kalish <[email protected]>
 

(back) Subject: Firewood Jim From: John Gulland <[email protected]> Date: Wed, 11 Feb 1998 18:48:05 -0400   Yesterday, we got email through the wood-heat.com web site from a firewood supplier near Bend, Oregon. I'm sure there are terrific firewood suppliers all over, but I haven't encountered one who has such a highly developed view of his work and can write about it. I got a big kick out of his message, and I thought some of you might too. You can read about Firewood Jim here: http://www.wood-heat.com/archive.htm   Regards, John This is for business: http://www.gulland.ca This is for pleasure: http://www.wood-heat.com      
(back) Subject: Re:CFM Majestic sales From: Dave Johnston <[email protected]> Date: Thu, 12 Feb 1998 09:19:52 -0400   Craig: You're right. The number listed as gross profits should have read cost of sales; gross profits were $90,980.   March issue already gone. I'll fix it in April. Thanks for the catch.     Dave J      
(back) Subject: Highlights of EXPO '98 Education From: Susan Kalish <[email protected]> Date: Thu, 12 Feb 1998 12:16:03 -0400   Four weeks and counting until the show. Everyone here at HPA is busy, busy, busy making arrangements for this show to be the best ever. Here are highlights of some of the speakers and education sessions planned for you:   1. Frank Halpin, owner of the Halpin Group (Iselin, NJ), and Certified Fraud Examiner, will be presenting the session on loss prevention. Frank will be addressing both shoplifting (external theft) and employee (internal) theft practices and policies which can protect you from unnecessary loss.   2. Pat McGraw of Business Resource Services (Seattle), a highly acclaimed finance speaker from Reno, has been invited back to present two sessions, Pricing for Profit and Financial Statement Analysis.   3. Carol Ptak, Eagle Enterprises (Kent, WA), a specialist in inventory control and leader/special instructor/Board member for APICS (resource management association), will be leading the session on inventory management.   4. Deanne Flanders, owner of Deanne & Wayne & Company (Chattanooga) advertising firm, will be presenting the sessions on newspaper advertising, purchasing media time, and targetting customers.   5. Robert Kramer, owner of Revolutionary Retailing (Dayton) and previous owner of a chain of retail stores, will talk about making your store more visible to potential customers.   6. Scott Yost, Point Clear Communications (St. Louis), will be presenting the "Keys to a Smooth Family Succession" session. He is an attorney who has firsthand experience with this topic - his family "lost" a family business through lack of planning.   7. Mark Yahoudy, American Express Small Business Services (Chicago), will talk about employee benefit options for small businesses.   All these speakers have either visited and interviewed hearth shops owners, interviewed owners over the phone, or have current clients who are hearth dealers. Between their knowledge of their subject and understanding of your business these sessions should be great.   Don't forget the two Professional Hearth Dealer courses, "Developing and Managing a Profitable Service Department", and "Hiring, Retaining and Empowering Employees". There is still room in each of these day-long courses. The courses are offered Wednesday and Thursday at the show.   Finally, we have a number of hearth industry experts, both dealers and manufacturers who are willing to share their experience and expertise of the hearth industry - Tom Pugh, Paul Stegmeir, Tex McLeod, Bob Borella, John Bassemier, Craig Issod - to name a few. In my association experience, education sessions where peers work with peers are normally the sessions that receive the highest marks. Learn from their successes and their mistakes!   Questions? Sue Kalish, [email protected]. See you there!