By William J. Lynott On the surface, it appears to be a routine chore: You have a job to fill, so you must interview the applicants and select the most promising. In truth, interviewing job candidates today is far from a routine task. One of the toughest issues to resolve with new hires is measuring [...]

"The past years’ economic challenges have not been a problem for my business—in fact, I think they’ve made my business even stronger because I’ve separated my business from the competition,” says Dave Elliot, owner of David’s Custom Trimmers, Brisbane, Australia. “We offer products other similar businesses don’t offer in terms of strength and neatness, and [...]

Bread and butter. Life blood. Members of the family. Call them what you will, industrial sewing machines are fabricators’ best friends—or, perhaps on a bad day, their worst enemies. Fabricators, manufacturers and suppliers tell us what’s new and what’s still working. Opinions abound about lubricants and thread and buying used machines. They share invaluable advice [...]

Thanks to the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, managers, executives and owners who have hesitated or postponed making capital investments for their marine fabrication businesses through the recent economic downturn might now want to consider how the use of those tax incentives and others already on the books can substantially reduce the cost of [...]

A customer is standing in front of you. Maybe she has a question. Or a complaint. Or maybe she’s thinking about a purchase, and wants to discuss a product issue. What do you say to best serve the customer, and bring about a win-win resolution of the conversation? Sounds like a simple question. But the [...]

Sooner or later, everyone contemplates retirement. For those who own a closely held or family-owned fabrication business, retirement is more than just a matter of deciding to not go to work anymore. In addition to ensuring there will be enough money to retire, business owners, shareholders and partners must decide what will happen to the [...]

So why bother to join one of those online discussion groups? If you think a group is just one more dreaded task, you’re mistaken. Think for a moment about the insight and ideas you gleaned from your last professional conference. Or the practical tips colleagues give you on the telephone every once in a while. [...]

OK, you’re afloat in the Bahamas. The enclosure protecting your pilot house blows out. You need a fix right away. Wind, waves, weather—it happens all the time, but replacement isn’t always easy. In many such cases, an enclosure must be fitted carefully to your specific boat. So, stuck there in the Bahamas, you contact the [...]

Larry Schneider's Milwaukee-based Homestyle Custom Upholstery shop, which began in his parents basement, now features 1,000 square feet of office space alone. Steve Jobs started Apple in his parents’ garage. Amazon, Google, Hewlett-Packard, Mattel and Microsoft also began in garages. Dell and Facebook began in dorm rooms. And Virgin Group’s humble beginnings trace [...]

Like all things, marketing products and services have changed over the past decade. A typical marketing campaign of yesteryear for a small business involved direct mail, print ads, radio and billboard advertising, flyers, posters and listings in the Yellow Pages. Today, 98 percent of consumers search online for products, services and businesses. The term Search Engine [...]