  Without over glamorizing what it takes to make something like this happen, here are the basics. My SFP has evolved into a small manufacturer or more technically, a component integrator. We have been focused in our current business model for 16 months. We will do around $2 million in revenue this year. About $300K will be sub contract manufacturing, and the rest direct sold business. Around 50% of the remainder is in one large contract.
Today we have 9 production employees and occupy a pretty small space. I have no other seasoned professional help other than an old retired friend that is helping me keep my head screwed on straight. I have found that one of the things that I miss most in being in a larger company is the ability to focus. My day shifts gears so fast that I can hardly stay on task for very long. I go from AP to AR to Sales to Tool Fixer to Truck Loader to Toilet Plunger all before lunch. All of that experience in "operational excellence" has gone out the window as I try to survive the challenges of the day.
My old friend knows as much about business as I do, probably more. He is helping to stabalize the day to day task and get some organization in this rapidly growing project. Consider that our revenue will grow over 1200% this year. I am completely over matched some days. Everyday has it's own host of challenges and today was no different. I have to get out a truck load of product tomorrow and I am really pushing hard to not fall short.
On top of that, I am hoping that a customer follows through on over nighting a check for $40K for a large job we did last month. You see the check is 15 days past due. Normally, I would not be that concerned but that is a good sum of money and as any business teacher worth their salt will tell you, the challenge of a growing business is not profit, it's cash flow.
The employees have been paid, and now the material vendors want to be paid and I need the check to cover the check run on Friday. Make no mistake, financially, we are strong. Very strong, and our investors believe in us and would help us if we got in a pinch, but I want to make it without the help. Sometimes you have to pretend the safety net is not there make the big leap. Our goal on the line was 125 units today.
Not out of control but a streach. All day long we could not buy a break. I had tooling problems, line problems, and fixture problems. This was not the day to experiment with new fixturing. but we did, and as a result, we suffered a bit. It seemed like ever time I went in the back, there were at least 2 people standing around and my lead was running around putting out one fire or another. People standing around drive me crazy! There is so much work to be done that there is no excuse for standing around talking. None. You can always pick up a broom or take out some trash. That is how I sort the A from B players is when they run out of work. The A players find work. One day, I was on a conference call and I only had one guy working in the back.
He ran out of parts and when I got off my call, he had cleaned the bath room and was sweeping cob webs off the walls. He still works for me. Well lunch cam and went and we were not getting on pace. I was really getting antsy and I felt myself snap at a few of my guys. Then, like a blessing from God, My check came. Whew! I smiled and went to the bank. When the end of the day came, I was on pace to meet my truck. I don't know how, but I was. I like to think it was because I ran around like a crazy person all day. It was probably becuase I finally have a good crew and they had it under control. 
