This morning we received an export order for 50 punching bags that will be collected on Friday going to Malawi. This should be a monthly repeat order and helps me slowly whittle down my target which is 100 bags per day. So far we have only had export orders for Namibia and Malawi over and above the local market so a few more countries would be ideal.

Speaking With Forked Tongue

I followed up on the new textile waste that is on order and they are still 10-14 days away from delivery. I immediately knew I was in a queue and they have not even started to process mine yet. The concern is I do think they were delaying my order as they were busy completing an export order and we not open about this. Their capacity is 32-33 tons monthly and if they had been preparing mine it would have been delivered long ago already. A ton a day working on their capacity figures tells me they are a week away from starting mine still. The numbers did not add up and they have been playing a delay game instead of being open and honest. I guess I am going to have to pay them a visit early next week which is a hassle as it is an 1100 km round trip which I will do the same day.

I explained that once they dispatch that order a new order has to be triggered on their system because I cannot afford the delays. The operations manager at the plant understands this and now we have to get this through to the CEO who no doubt is an accountant by the way he thinks and operates. The operations manager advice was to place an order immediately the container drives through the gates. I do not think we will have a problem in the future and why I want to tie up every ounce of textile waste they have making sure there are no exports because that would have me waiting 2 months or longer between deliveries. The delays are now costing me money and I cannot delay the orders.

This is a new company and looking at the age of the CEO I would guess this is his first gig and does not understand the business entirely which he will not find in his text book. I can recall speaking to him asking questions and he transferred me to the operations manager. Surely if you are the head of the business you should know all the facts or make sure you learn them. The good thing is they are not good at lying and can smell their BS immediately. Telling the truth always buys you more time because knowing the truth helps helps everyone solve the problem together.

Today what I found out is the textile waste we are buying is a by product of what their core business produces so this is extra profit. My monthly order is hassle free without the worry of Forex or having to stock pile until they have sufficient amount. When the container is full just invoice me and it will be paid immediately giving them regular cash flow. From my understanding they are waiting every 2 or 3 months to export this by product and now they can have $5K monthly every month just by delivering a few hours up the road.

I have known number of businesses in the past that were ruined by accountants as their company CEO's and it was all down to a lack of understanding the business they were running. I get the idea they are in control of the finances ,but from my experience that is where their role should end as this does not mean they have a business mind. Poor decisions through lack of knowledge can cripple a good business in a very short period of time and I have witnessed this first hand. The frustrating part is they think they know better and do not take to being given advice too kindly.