20•


HEATING HELP


Thinking business I


’ve always believed that the best way to find new business is to pay close attention to the problems


people are having, and then find a way to make those problems go away. But you have to be very careful when you do this. For instance, I was waiting on a bench at an outdoor mall for The Lovely Marianne to come out of The Christmas Tree Shop. I watched people pushing their


shopping carts loaded with cheap stuff from the store toward the park- ing lot. now that’s a problem for the store because they have to hire people to go out into the lot to bring back the carts. That’s an expense for the store, but if they ignore it, the lot will fill with carts; people will have fewer places to park, and they won’t find a cart when they finally get to the store. not good. So someone came up with a new


business to solve that problem. The shopping carts at The Christmas Tree Store now have wheels that lock if you push them beyond a certain point outside the store. They do this elec- tronically with something like an E- ZPass, but with brakes (EZnoPass). There’s a big sign a hundred feet or


so beyond the store that tells you you’re about to be stopped, but most of the shoppers ignore that sign, fig- uring it doesn’0t apply to them be- cause they’re special. They push a bit faster as they reach the border and I enjoyed watching each of them fall right into the cart when the wheels when stiff. I’m easily amused. Most of the people would get this


incredulous look on their faces and then push again, harder this time. When they realized the wheels had locked, they’d look at the sign, and push harder still. The more resource- ful ones would get in front of the carts and pull them rather than push because it’s easier to drag a locked- wheel cart than it is to push one. Some left skid marks on the side- walk, and everyone cursed. They cursed the store where they had just dropped a bunch of money on cheap stuff. They turned to the passersby and complained about the cart and the store. They shouted about how they couldn’t get their heavy purchases out to their cars and what the heck were they supposed to do now. I en-


• An incompetent generation growing up


• Opportunities hidden in every problem


• Problems=business See what you come up with If you watch people, and if you pay


attention, you’ll never have trouble finding new business. I came across an article about a study that an insur- ance company in the U.K. had just completed. The company wanted to know if young people had any “do it yourself” skills. The answer to that,


“Parents have really been coddling their kids since 9/11...What will these kids be like when they’re


incompetent generation will do once Dad is on the other side of the lawn. Whom will they call then? Who’s going to pick up


the pieces? Think there might be a good business in that?


as you might imagine, can affect an insurance company’s bottom line. What the company learned was in- teresting, and even though the results are from the U.K., I’ll bet they also apply to the current younger genera- tion here in the U.S. They found that more than half of the people under 35 years old lack the basic DIY skills necessary to wire a plug; 63% of them wouldn’t attempt to hang wall- paper, and more than half (54%) don't know how to bleed the air from a ra- diator. Imagine that. But wait, it gets better: 45% can’t


hang a shelf; 36% don’t know how to mow a lawn, and 65% of them call good old Dad to do get the job done. The insurance company did this


survey because they’re concerned about the condition of the homes they’re insuring, especially when Dad is no longer around to do the work for the kids. They’re worried about problems stacking up until the whole works tumbles down and they’re holding the bag. They estimate the average cost of


fixing a job botched by someone under 35 years old to be $3,852. Com-


• Be sure to visit www.thewholesaler.com for web exclusive articles and videos! •


adults?”... Think about what this apparently mechanically


joyed every moment. The store’s solution was the cus-


tomer’s problem. It was a wonderful thing to consider while waiting for The Lovely Marianne on my bench. I sat there thinking about a business that would solve both the shopper’s problem with the locked carts, while still solving the store’s problem with the missing or unreturned carts, and I came up with what I think is perfect solution.


pare this to the average price of a job botched by someone over 45 years old, which is just $292. About 20% of those under 35 carry no insurance (compared to only 7% of those over 45), so that’s what they’re facing. Look around, do you think we have


a similar situation here in the U.S.? And if so, do you see an opportunity there? I talked to my 29-year-old daughter


about this. She thinks it’s true for the U.S. as well, just based on what she sees with her friends, and she thinks things will get worse within the next few years. “Parents have really been coddling their kids since 9/11,” she said. “Just look at the way they’ll fight with teachers, even when the kid is ab- solutely wrong. What will these kids be like when they’re adults?” You think there’s a business in all of


that? If I were you, I‘d start by sharing this story with your contractor cus- tomers. The part about the $3,853 av- erage-claim cost for those under 35 might be enough to encourage some young person to hire a pro rather than take on that project himself. What’s the true cost of doing it yourself? Beyond that, think about what this


apparently mechanically incompetent generation will do once Dad is on the other side of the lawn. Whom will they call then? Who’s going to pick up the pieces? Think there might be a good business in that? Do you think they’ll be looking for


adult education? If so, who will teach them, and what form will that teach- ing take? Books? Videos? The Web? Will social networks spring up


around these people to offer them sup- port or guidance as to how to find good help? Who might get that going? Will there be more business for


your contractor customers from these people? Could you bring the two groups together? Would that add value to your company? Could you sponsor local clinics with your pros and the young people? Could you turn that into dollars? Do you see yourself fitting into any


of this? If you can, that’s great. If you can’t, then think of something else. The important thing is to see the world as it is right now, and think about how you might make a profit by offering solutions to the real prob- lems people are having. In 1956, Malcolm McLean, a truck


driver from north Carolina, noticed how long it took stevedores to empty a ship. He came up with the idea of putting all that stuff into a container that would fit onto a truck or a train, and inside of a cargo ship. That’s where all the containers came from. There are now 26 million of them and they all came from the mind of a truck driver who noticed a problem,


BY DAN HOLOHAN Wet head


but that’s not the end of the story be- cause problems never sleep. Rene Giesbers is a heating-systems


engineer from the netherlands. He has nothing to do with the shipping indus- try, other than he has this idea that those containers weigh too much and take up too much space when they’re empty. He recently invented a col- lapsible, fiberglass-composite ship- ping container that weighs 75% less than a standard steel container. one person on a forklift can collapse one of these composite containers to 25% of its opened-up size in 30 seconds. It also floats, and it doesn’t corrode. Right now, many of those 26 mil-


lion containers are floating around empty, so Mr. Giesbers’ idea seems like a good one to me. What do you think? What does all of this have to do


with heating? Perhaps not much, but it has a lot to do with business. Keep looking for those problems. There’s an opportunity in each. It’s always been that way. See problems; think business. now go to the mall and sit on a


bench.


•THE WHOLESALER® — JANUARY 2011


n


Dan Holohan began his love affair with heating systems in 1970 by going to work for a New York-based manufacturers representative that was deeply involved in the steam and hot-water heating business. He stud- ied hard, prowled many basements and attics with seasoned old-timers, and paid close attention to what they had to say. Today, Holohan operates the popular website, www.Heat- ingHelp.com. He has written hun- dreds of columns for a number of trade magazines, as well as 15 books on subjects ranging from steam and hot water heating, to teaching tech- nicians. His degree is in Sociology, which Holohan believes is the perfect preparation for a career in heating. Holohan has taught over 200,000 people at his seminars. He is well known for his entertaining, anecdotal style of speaking. Holohan lives on Long Island with his wife, The Lovely Marianne. They have four incredible daughters, all out in the world and doing wonderful things.


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92  |  Page 93  |  Page 94  |  Page 95  |  Page 96  |  Page 97  |  Page 98  |  Page 99  |  Page 100