Author! Author!

I've been interviewed on the BusinessInfoGuide.com website. Take a look, leave a comment, buy my book, find lots of good info on the site.

Leading the Race?

... and it's Lean leading by two and a half lengths coming into the turn...

I just came across this report that says that Lean is leading Six Sigma as the preferred corporate improvement system. Maybe it is. Without reading the full research analysis I can only comment on what is reported in the press. But I am a bit skeptical about the whole thing.

A couple of points jump to mind. The first is that the analysis is based on job ads that list Lean and/or Six Sigma expertise and experience. I'm not sure how valid that is as a measure of the popularity of the systems. Sure, it says something, but what exactly I'm not sure I'd speculate about.

Second, I don't see these two management systems as competing against each other. First, they are complimentary systems. They work well together, and you could argue that either one is an extension of the other. Second, commitment and implementation are more important than which one you choose. Actually, what's more important is which one is the most appropriate for your organization at any given point in time.

A point I often make is that instead of focusing on what the particular system you're looking at using is called, understand what you're trying to accomplish and what tools you can use to get there. Use parts and pieces of the various formal systems and make them work for you.

Of course, many times it is advantageous to implement a formal, named, system, such as Lean, Six Sigma, or Sales & Operations Planning because that allows people to get their hands and heads around it and keep them focused. Only you know what's best for you.

But you have to have enough knowledge to make the decisions. My book will help.

Found

I thought the Russian publisher of my book had gone out of business. I wasn't able to find them for a long time and my contact didn't answer my emails, so I just figured they were gone. But it turns out they are not.

Grevtsov is still there, and so is my book. And there are more reviews on the Russian publisher's site (9) than there are on Amazon.com (2).

I'm still trying to get it translated and published in Vietnam, as I'm writing articles for two different supply chain magazines in that country.

New Site

I set up a new, dedicated, website for the book. I'm still in the process of adding the shopping cart and more information. It's supposed to be easy with the web hosting company I'm using (1&1), but it's not quite as easy for me as I expected. Plus it takes some chunks of time that I find difficult.

But, the basic page is up, I'm working on the shopping cart, and will be adding more content soon.

Stay tuned.

Lessons Learned

Some lessons learned:

1) Don't believe everything you read.

2) Don't ship U.S. Postal Media Mail if you want something to get somewhere anytime soon. Refer to #1 when reading the USPS website regarding transit times for Media Mail.

3) Do NOT ship U.S. Postal Media Mail if shipping from Hawaii (or Alaska) if you want your package to get to the mainland in your life time.

4) Read the fine print. USPS website does, in fact, mention that transit times quoted do not apply to Alaska and Hawaii.

5) Media Mail means surface shipping, not a priority, hold on to the packages until the next ship leaves.

6) Just because the first time you shipped Media Mail your package arrived in about 7 days, doesn't mean that the next time it won't take 16 days.

7) Get a FedEx account.

8) Amazon, for all their 21st century internet wonder, can not put items into inventory when they are received.

9) Amazon takes 7-10 days to enter items into their system after they have been received.

10) Read the fine print.

11) People won't buy an item that is Temporarily Out of Stock.

12) When advertising that your items are "Available on Amazon.com", refer to items #2 - 11.

13) Temporarily Out of Stock sometimes means "we have it but we don't say we have it or we don't know we have it."


p.s. Feel free to order The Small Manufacturer's Toolkit on Amazon now, as they are in their warehouse at this very moment, despite what the status says.

Books Shipped

I shipped out another 5 books to Amazon today. That's up from the 2 on their first order. I saw that the two I had sent them were sold and my page says Temporarily Out of Stock. Not good. People won't buy if it's out of stock. I thought Amazon had a super-duper inventory tracking and ordering system, but it is not as robust as I expected. Millions of items to keep track of, sure, but if you're going to be that big you've got to have the systems to back it up. They're good, but they need some work.

So after a couple of days of waiting for an order from them I contacted them. I am impressed at how quickly they do respond when I send them a message, and they answer the question too. Not bad. They told me I can monitor the inventory and send them an order request when their inventory is low. Not the best solution from my point of view, but I will do that since I want to sell the books. As soon as they answered my question they also placed the order, which I promptly sent them today.

I also found out about Amazon U.K. It is a totally separate entity (operated separately). I can register with them and do the same thing I'm doing with Amazon U.S. - Except - I have to have a U.K. bank account to do that.

O.K., I thought. Can I do that and is it worth it? Being an American English book, how well will it sell in the U.K.? But I thought with all the internet banks out there now setting up a U.K. bank account shouldn't be too difficult. Oh, how naive I am. No Can Do. Apparently, without being physically present in the U.K. and having a U.K. address it is impossible to open a bank account. And it sounds like even if you have those it's not always that easy to open an account if you're not a citizen. Being a business, I'd have to set up and register my business in the U.K. before I could open a bank account there.

Probably not feasible at this point, nor even necessary. This is when I start to re-think signing up with a distributor, one who has overseas offices. Or this could be a wonderful excuse to go back to Scotland!





Golden Ox Publishing

Golden Ox Update

Not a lot of news, but a few updates on the Golden Ox Publishing biz.

The Small Manufacturer's Toolkit is selling, though not yet like hotcakes, even before my first ads are printed. I'm starting with some advertising in some APICS Chapter Newsletters around the country. Pretty low cost and should hit a fair number of highly potential prospects. Advertising in the APICS Magazine is a little out of my budget at this point, and although the magazine goes out to at least 40,000 people around the world, for that kind of money I'd want to target a more narrow manufacturing niche. We'll see what happens when the ads start to hit.

I'm wondering about Amazon U.K. versus Amazon U.S. I went to the Amazon U.K. website and my book is listed, but I'm wondering about the connection between the U.S. and U.K. operations. The U.K. price is still at the higher price the original publisher was selling at, not my new lower price. Also, the content I updated was not updated there. I know the original publisher stocked books in the U.K., but I think that was at their own warehouse. I'm thinking the U.K. operation is totally separate and I need to work with them as a totally separate entity. I've contacted them, so we'll see what they say.

Still got plenty of other things I still need to do, like updating websites and such. Got to squeeze that in somewhere.

On another note, I'm evaluating my first real prospect for another author's book to publish. So far I like what I see, but there's a bit of work to do before I commit. I've talked with several other authors, but this one is the first real prospect. Meaning the author is well along with the writing and serious about looking for a publisher. It seems a lot of "authors" talk more than they write, or aren't as far along as they think they are. Still, I have a few potential books I'm keeping my eye on.

First Sale

My first sale on Amazon! Since the book is under my control and with a new price, that is. Sometime this morning someone bought a copy. Here's to many more. The Year of the Ox (my year) transitioning into the Year of the Tiger (roar!). It looks like it's going to be a good one.

I've started placing ads, so we'll have to see how sales are affected by that.






Golden Ox Publishing

Temporarily Out of Stock

Amazon received my books two days ago, but they're not In Stock yet. Their system seems to know what's going on, up to a point, but it looks like a few tweaks are in order. I sent them an Advanced Shipping Notice, so they knew they were coming - but that wasn't reflected on my page. Could have said More on the Way or something. Now I know they've received them because I tracked the shipment. My page has been updated to Temporarily Out of Stock, but the books they've received are not In Stock yet.

I'm still looking into advertising. I'm creating a list of the larger APICS chapters around the U.S. and Canada and the price of ads in their newsletters, if they have one. Most are pretty reasonable, so I'll give them a try. Reasonable, that is, if it results in sales.

I've rearranged the boxes in my apartment so you hardly even know they're there. Hardly. Well, they're mostly out of the way, sort of.

Toolkit Update

It's been a few days since my last post, so here's an update. I shipped my first order to Amazon.com, so in a couple of days my page will show "In Stock", which I suspect is an important selling point. I still need to do a little editing and updating of the page, but for the most part I'm setup on Amazon.

Still researching possible advertising venues. APICS magazine is a bit pricey for now, so I'm looking at some APICS chapters that send out monthly newsletters to a relatively large number of people. I found a few good prospect, and will place a few ads there. Looking at other organizations and publications too. This takes time. But I'll have a pretty good start for future releases (mine and others).

Here's one version of the ad I created. Pretty straightforward.







I still have a list of things to do, but this week I was busy working on a proposal to do some Lean training for a local company. Also spent time last weekend at the APICS District Meeting that was held her in Honolulu, then had lunch on Monday with the Mission Peak Chapter representative and dinner Tuesday with the Portland (OR) chapter President. That's why I stay involved with APICS, the friends I make.

I've got a writer's group meeting tomorrow. Unfortunately, my writing hasn't been keeping up to pace, but I will get more worthwhile feedback, so that will be good.

Still Moving

Well, where are we at with the book? We almost up and running on Amazon. The update price and information is there, they just need to order from me so that the availability status says "In Stock".

I've completed my application to Powell's Books. I'm already on their site because I was on their shelves in Portland (Oregon), but they show Out-of-Stock. So I need to be registered as a vendor with them so they can stock the book again.

I have to finish the Barnes & Noble application.

At this point I'm not looking for one of the big distributors. I'm going to look into some smaller distributors that focus on business books and/or the independent bookstore market, because I think they will put more effort into the sales & marketing side. Not much, realistically, but more than the zero I would expect from the big guys.

Stacked

My books arrive Wednesday. 900+ pounds on a pallet. I figure about 25 cases or so. I will be getting my exercise that day. Anybody want to exercise with me? For now they will be joining me in my apartment, which means I'll be making about 25 trips up and down the stairs. I'm tired already.

I'm still waiting to hear from Amazon regarding my application and all the particulars of getting the book on there, or transferred over from the original publisher.

I was also looking into getting it onto, or keeping it on, Barnes & Noble and Borders. Barnes & Noble has a program for small publishers to list and stock their books, but Borders only works through one of the major distributors. That got me thinking more about using a distributor or wholesaler or not. Here's what I'm thinking.

At this point do I really need my book listed on every possible book selling website? Or is Amazon, where it seems the vast majority of people go, and Barnes & Noble, as well as my own website, enough? I'm thinking that I'm pretty well covered with Amazon, Barnes & Noble, my website, and personal sales when I give presentations. Then, if sales are going gangbusters I can re-evaluate. If the book was brand new it might be different, but since it's a few years old already (though the material is no different than if it were written today) the distributors aren't going to put as much effort into selling it. If they would anyway. I suspect I'd have the same complaints I had with my publisher. They have much higher selling, and newer, titles that the smaller market titles get little, if any, marketing effort.


The Small Manufacturer's Toolkit







Golden Ox Publishing

Working the Numbers

Well, been doing a little calculating. Looking at how many books I'm going to have to sell to make money. On the bright side, I'm confident they will sell at the new lower price. $39.95 as opposed to the original price of $79.95, which was then raised to $93.95. I wonder if they really meant to take my advice and lower it to $39, but that somebody typed it wrong and it came out to $93?

To sell them, Amazon is a must and probably the primary channel, at least to start. The thing with them is that they take a hefty cut, 55% discount off the List Price. Sure they've got all the operations and the overhead that goes with it, but that's pretty steep. But besides Amazon, what else to do? That's a big question.

There are wholesalers and distributors, and there are the bookstore buyers. Some bookstores only buy from the largest wholesalers, and if you're not listed by those wholesalers you won't get in those bookstores. Some distributors supply the large wholesalers. It's all a bit convoluted. Especially if you're a small publisher or self-publisher.

Bookstores only want books that sell. That makes sense. So the wholesalers and distributors only want books that sell. That makes sense too. Large publisher's books are, on a whole, more likely to sell because 1) they have bigger marketing budgets, and 2) they go through a very rigorous vetting and production process meaning that the quality of the final book is likely to be very high.

But, with the proliferation of small publishers and self-published books there are plenty of distributors willing to service them. But here's where the decisions come in, many distributors want exclusive rights to distribute your book(s). That has advantages and disadvantages, so you have to decide. I won't go into that right now, but I'm at the decision making point right now.

Stay tuned.









The Small Manufacturer's Toolkit





Golden Ox Publishing

Progress

Well, got a little bit done. Started the Amazon setup process. It's pretty straightforward, just takes time. With the book already there I'm not sure of the next step, but either way it takes them a day or two to process what I've done so far.

Got a little bit of writing done, but I'm not moving nearly fast enough. I write slow to begin with (I run slow too, I wonder if there's a theme here) and I keep getting interrupted. I have to write my articles for the Vietnam Supply Chain magazine, which eats into my time. But that actually works out pretty well because I use a lot of what I write in those articles in the book. It changes and expands for the book, but the basic ideas start there. Well not actually start there, the ideas usually start from what I'm writing or will be writing in the book, and they come out in a quick magazine format article before circling around back into the book. Something like that. Still, need to focus on the writing. Focus, focus.

But late now, so time for bed and recharging so I can write and work tomorrow.

Work, Work, Work

It's Sunday. Fired up the computer. Now where to start? Here's some of the things I have to do or think about:

I have to work on and finish the new book. That should be the number one priority, as it's been in progress way too long. I should have finished it by now. Right now I'm in the middle of a major overhaul. Not so much the content, but the structure. It just wasn't quite right before. But I got some great feedback from the writer's group I meet with, and when I put together a presentation based on the book I realized it didn't flow right. So, write.

I have to register and get everything set up on Amazon. The book already has a page there, but I have to more or less "transfer" it or take it over. Everything is there on the page, but they don't have any inventory and the price is still the original publisher's price.

I did update my consulting company website, the page where I show my book. That wasn't the top priority, but it was pretty quick and it needed to be done.

The inventory of books that I bought will be arriving any day now. What to do with them? By me estimate it should be about 25 cases. And heavy. I've got room at my place, but do I really want them there? Not really, but do I want to pay for a storage unit? Not really, but seeing as this is a startup operation, cash flow is a concern. Might be a good reason to do more purging of junk to free up some room.

Start planning the second printing of the book. I believe the book will sell at my new price, so I have to start planning ahead. Do I print it as-is, or do I "update"? As-is would be easier, I've got all the printer files, but what do I need to change since the original publisher reverted the rights back to me? I need to find out. But I'm more inclined to make some minor changes and publish it under Golden Ox Publishing. I'm planning on re-writing it (at some point) to make it appealing to a wider audience, but that's still down the road.

I'm planning on, or at least seriously exploring, publishing it in other countries and other languages. I've sent a copy to my magazine publisher in Vietnam and we've talked about the possibility of publishing it there. I'm also thinking about Korea and China, and am thinking about a Spanish edition for the U.S. market. There is already a Russian edition, but I think that publisher went out of business. France, Germany, and South Africa are possibilities. If anyone has other suggestions, please let me know.

I have to look into shipping options and bone-up on the costs and advantages and disadvantages of each (U.S. Postal, FedEx, and UPS). It's not something I do every day, so another thing on my list.

Advertising and marketing. Hmmm hmmm... Got to do it, but what's the best bang for the buck with this book? My first thought is the APICS magazine. I'm guessing their ad rates are pretty much standard for the industry and reach, but it seems a bit high to me. Of course, that's probably just because I'm cheap. I'm going to contact some APICS chapters, the larger ones, and inquire about paid advertising in their monthly electronic newsletters. Other organization's magazines are possibilities too, especially ASQ and IIE, as they published good reviews when the book first came out. Which means that it's probably the right market/audience.

Well, there's more, but I've got to get working on some of these items, especially the writing. In between all this I have to write my articles for the Vietnamese magazine.