Sometimes machining companies tell Graff-Pinkert they have long running, lucrative jobs supplying parts to the D.O.D., and it always has seemed a little mysterious to me. What are these parts they are supplying to the government? How does a company get to become a supplier to the D.O.D.?
Is supplying parts to the U.S. Government a good idea for a small-sized or medium-sized machining company?
Steve Jobs once said, “You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future.”
Today, I’m going to tell you a story about how dots in my past came together serendipitously to help me solve problems and make some good deals in our used machinery business. When I met the people in these stories, I had no idea they would be significant to our business down the line, and of course, I never could have predicted how they would connect with one another.
Lately, Graff-Pinkert has seen a lot of new opportunities for our used machinery business–particularly in the category of machines that I like to call “Sexy Ugly.” Many customers are clearing the decks of their dirty Acme, Davenport, and Brown & Sharpe cam screw machines to become pure CNC machine shops, while at the same time, quite a few machining companies are still embracing those ancient cast iron beasts.
On today’s episode, we’re shaking things up. We’re playing an episode from a podcast I guested on, the Business Growth on Purpose podcast with Jose Palomino.
I followed a Tesla Model S driving home last night. Attractive blue sedan, even in the Chicago gloom.
I have not personally seen any other makes of electric vehicles other than a rivian pickup, which looked like it had never been driven on the streets of Chi-town. I know Ford has sold some Mustangs, and GM sold some Bolts, which they discontinued. I see no electric BMWs or Mercedes or Audis or Chinese built electric varieties in my town.
Spinner is a German CNC machine tool brand that’s been around for 73 years. The company sold 1,200 CNC mills turning centers, and automation systems in Europe last year, yet in the United States, a large amount of people in the machining industry have never even heard of them.
I followed a Tesla Model S driving home last night. Attractive blue sedan, even in the Chicago gloom.
I have not personally seen any other makes of electric vehicles other than a rivian pickup, which looked like it had never been driven on the streets of Chi-town. I know Ford has sold some Mustangs, and GM sold some Bolts, which they discontinued. I see no electric BMWs or Mercedes or Audis or Chinese built electric varieties in my town.
On today’s show we’re talking about what you do if your business’s growth becomes stagnant or even stops all together.
Our guest is Jose Palomino, host of the Business Growth on Purpose podcast and founder and CEO of Value Prop, a consultancy that gives established B2B companies strategies to jump start growth when it has fallen off.
I am a treasure hunter for a living. I pay my mortgage by finding obscure used machines from all over the world and then finding people who want to buy sexy-ugly/high-tech equipment. The best way to do that is by interacting with customers in ways that create serendipity.
Today, I’m going to tell you how calling people on the phone, even when it seems like a long shot, can result in serendipity. If you approach talking to people with the right strategies you have the potential to create tons of meaningful, significant, productive conversations.
Today’s podcast episode is the second half of our interview with Dr. Onome Scott-Emuakpor, the founder of Hyphen Innovations, a firm that develops low cost, damage resistant aerospace components.
In this half of the interview we dug deeper into Onome’s creative approaches he uses when developing aerospace components such as embracing resource constraints and failing fast.
We also discussed Onome’s desire for more young African Americans to pursue degrees in engineering.