Select Brands

Meetings. Metrics. Motivation. Those ingredients, says Bill Endres, have made Select Brands a powerhouse small business, with 2009 revenues of $88.6 million, and just 16 full-time employees.

Some companies dabble in vertical integration with disastrous results. Others, like Endres’ company, successfully seize the opportunity to control every facet of what they make, and the results are the stuff of stellar performance. A national sales and marketing organization, it controls the manufacture and distribution of small kitchen appliances such as toasters, coffee makers, blenders and more. And it controls that production right down to the design of the knobs and levers on each product, then sells them under its own family of brands and through private-label programs.

Endres, the CEO, launched the company 13 years ago. He says success starts by aligning the work force with the strategic vision, and having in place an infrastructure to make sure it happens.

“We have frequent meetings to ensure that everyone is aware of where we stand as a company,” says Endres. “We focus on the metrics of the company to ensure we are meeting our goals. At the end of the day, we have a meeting that lasts for 15 minutes to discuss the progress each made during that day and to be sure we are aligned in common needs.”

For his own company, operational costs have provided powerful metrics. “We have tried to focus on reducing operational costs compared to our competitors and to offer quality product with a high price value ratio to our customers,” Endres says. The result? Products that resonate with the consumer. “The development of a quality product gives our retail partners the opportunity to create a relationship with consumers.” And that, in turn, leads to increased consumer confidence and return
visits to those retail stores, he said.

His own company’s path to success, Endres said, is grounded in two things: having dedicated employees who are properly focused, and providing excellent customer service. Beyond that, he offers a concise four-point strategy for success at the small business level: “Understand the dynamics of your industry, don’t try to be everything to everyone, listen to your customers and trust in your team—sharing in the successes.”

SFP

Larry Sanders’ SFP came out of nowhere to become the fastest-growing business in Kansas City for 2008, with four-year revenue growth of 4,321 percent. Do not mistake that sudden emergence with overnight success.

“We spent years developing our product technology and then more years researching the response we would see in laboratories, then on to in-the-field experiences,” says Sanders, whose two products—Avail and NutriSphere-N—dramatically increase crop yields. “It took a lot of time and patience but has really paid off in the long run.”

Indeed. Just 33 employees strong, Leawood-based SFP (formerly Specialty Fertilizer Products) boasted revenues of nearly $30 million last year. Sanders attributes that success to several simple, but crucially important factors:

• Right product, right time. “Our business is right for the current agricultural climate,” he said. “With volatile market prices and yo-yoing fertilizer prices, farmers and ranchers are looking for some stability.”

• Retaining top talent. “We hire people who are good at what they do and they are good representatives of our company,” says Sanders. “We also like to take care of our employees and it has worked with a less than 10 percent turnover rate in the past six years.”

• Strategic alliances. “We have developed strong partnerships with our distribution models, marketing efforts and suppliers,” Sanders said. “These partnerships have ensured that we have a vested interest from our own employees, but also the employees of the companies we have partnered.”

• Innovative approaches. Toll manufacturing, a variant of contract manufacturing, has allowed SFP to maintain product quality without having to build the infrastructure to do all of its own manufacturing. “In the long run, it has saved us millions of dollars, and that has allowed us to develop a lot of trust in our manufacturing partner,” Sanders said.

His success can serve as a template for others willing to embracing two key principals: “Know your segment and audience,” he says, “and hire quality people you can trust.”