Building Our Team!

Building Our Team!

by Steve Bailey

I remember it like it was yesterday. It was in March 2001. I was trimming the boxwood in front of our house. Bonnie and I had just sold our garden center the month before, and I was still considering my options for employment over the next fifteen to twenty years. That’s when Bonnie came to the front door and said, “Robert is on the phone and wants to talk with you”.

Robert offered me the position of compiling the Weekly Department Review for The Group and, when the time was right, begin offering onsite consulting to those same centers. That one phone call changed our lives and Bonnie and I will be forever grateful to Robert and Wendy for this opportunity.

Fast-forward eighteen years, and times have certainly changed. We weathered the dot com bust and the recession of 2008, and The Group grew from thirty to one-hundred twenty centers! Along the way, we all contributed to WDR improvement, a more meaningful Profit & Loss Study, and even more financial programs for Group centers. Oh, yes, Danny and Karen took over the reins of The Group and are directing us all on the path to success.

But with all those improvements comes increased workload. About ten years ago and the onset of the recession, my travels increased substantially and Bonnie took over the WDR compilation. I would return home at the end of the week and together we would finalize it and get it out to all of you. Same with the Profit & Loss Study, compiling the master worksheet I use to analyze all of the sales and regional groups in your reports.

But Bonnie, just like Wendy before her, wanted to ‘retire’ and spend more time doing the things she liked to do, including gardening. Imagine that from a former garden center owner. So the search began for a person to take over all of these tasks. I could have looked for a data entry person to put it all together, but that lacked the personal touch that Bonnie had informing me when she saw something good, bad, or out of the ordinary.  I also thought of the advantage of someone who could maybe even lighten my travel load a little bit. That’s where we are today.

Just like Robert, I found that person who had industry experience, a good head for numbers, and doggone it, someone with an excellent personality that all of us can get along with. That person is Tim Quebedeaux, a twenty-year veteran of management in the garden center industry.

Tim will begin by assuming Bonnie’s responsibilities compiling the Weekly Department Review. In the near future, he will gain practical experience accompanying me to onsite visits, at no additional cost to clients of course. And beyond that, the P&L Study and more. I’m excited that all of us will have another head in the game, another way of thinking about financial issues, and most importantly, additional solutions to those issues.

With the addition of Tim comes a brand-new name to our consulting team. Sure, we will both maintain separate entities for tax purposes, but together, for our services to you, we will operate as RetailKPI Consulting.

What’s a KPI, you might ask? Well, if you’re reporting to the WDR and/or the P&L Study, you’ve been measuring and managing Key Performance Indicators. KPIs are the key ratios that are the benchmarks of your past performance and the key to future financial success. You had them and maybe didn’t know you were using them. Our new name brings them to the forefront.

You are probably also wondering about the pronunciation of Tim’s last name. As Tim explained to me from the start, phonetically it is pronounced KWIB-a-doh. But he’s like me, we don’t care what you call us, just call us. We’re a Group resource, here to help, now and in the future.

I hope you will reach out to Tim and welcome him to the growing list of Group Service Providers. His contact info follows. If you don’t contact him, chances are he will be getting in touch with you, as Bonnie did, about the WDR.

Tim Quebedeaux
Tim Quebedeaux Consulting, LLC
Cell: 770.355.6249‬
Email: CLICK HERE

Speaking of which, this transition wouldn’t be complete without a message from Bonnie:

“It’s here! My final WDR! I don’t know who is more excited about Tim Quebedeaux coming on board with The Group - Tim, Steve, or me. I think it’s me! I’m looking forward to having time to pursue my hobbies and interests including travel, genealogy, gardening, and hanging out with family and friends. But I’m not gone for good, hope to see everyone at Fall Event in Nashville. Thank you everyone for everything!"

Onward!

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Got questions or need more information about The Group's Annual P&L Study, the Weekly Department Review (WDR) or your profitability? Give Steve a call or email.

Steve Bailey
Tel: 618.319.9205
Cell: 618.521.5225
Email: CLICK HERE

Steve Bailey is a service provider for The Garden Center Group and manages all Group financial sharing programs. The Weekly Department Review (WDR) and The Annual P&L Study are industry exclusives developed by The Garden Center Group and are included in your retainer!

REMEMBER: Your interaction (by phone and email) with Group Service Providers such as Steve Bailey, Robert Hendrickson, Sid Raisch, Jean Seawright, and John Kennedy are included in your retainer! So what are you waiting for? Take advantage of all that The Group has to offer and give them a call or send an email now!

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