What happens when the sparks don’t fly? Or it cuts out, and you can’t remove it from the sheet of steel? Or some pieces cut out fine and others crash? It’s a small business dilemma – to be sure!
Small business dilemma
These are just some of the dilemmas that face a small business person trying to build a business using technology. It can be anything from a CNC plasma machine run by computer, or your desktop pc sitting on your desk with crashed applications (or worse yet – a virus).
Machine issues
Sunriver Metal Works faced some issues this week that we have not encountered in the 3 years the business has been up and running. It started with one of the larger pieces we cut – a 36″ diameter logo. Mike was watching it cut, and suddenly the plasma jumped to a different spot outside of the diameter and continued cutting. After backing up the sequence, Mike was able to get the piece completed. So, a couple more pieces cut fine before another standard piece just froze in the middle.
After checking all the parts and pieces, Mike tried cutting more pieces. It was trial and error trying to figure out just what was happening. We were restocking inventory for an upcoming show, so time was becoming critical. Mike finally had to walk away from it for awhile.
We have developed relationships with several local businesses that can help troubleshoot issues. So, Mike started calling those folks to talk through the possibilities. After hours of trying several potential fixes, he finally isolated what the problem might be. We purchased a new regulator for the compressor yesterday. Now Mike just has to install it to see if it fixes the problem. In the midst of this crisis, we are trying to finish up with home improvement projects before winter sets in.
Business vs personal issues
Often these type of dilemmas face small business owners every day. Balancing the business issues with personal life is always tenuous, because the business issues always seem to win out. In larger companies, staff can be hired to deal with the technical aspects of technology and machines. Small business owners generally don’t have that luxury.
How do you deal with the small business dilemma? Hope that your customers understand that stuff happens that is out of your control. Develop your ties with technical experts that can help you sort through things. You find local suppliers of the technology you need. And sometimes, your technical experts move out of the area and leave you hanging. Or they go out of business. Sound familiar?
Life goes on
Bottom line is that life, and business, goes on. So, you try your best to sort it out, and hope like hell that your solution works! And, that things are static for awhile…