CablesAndKits Blog

adding value to your IT infrastructure

COVID-19

CEO Daily Update – 7.27.2020

by

Doing the hard things first | Bargains on Deals Site | Shoe covers

Happy Monday!

Welcome to the beginning of a whole new week. I hope you had a good and restful / fun weekend with friends and family. As long/hard as I work all week I have really come to look forward to the weekends when I have two entire days to do things other than work on the business. There are certainly times (seasons) when I have to work all the time (like when we first started selling Safety Supplies) so I am very grateful for the season I am in right now where I don’t have to. I hope that you take the time to appreciate the season you are in – even when it is “the busy season”. I have found gratitude and gratefulness in the busy seasons knowing that there will come a time they will be over with, and the hard work will hopefully pay off.

“Do the hard things first” – Writing the above makes me think about one of my tendencies/preferences, and something I try to encourage others to adopt. Whenever I have the option to do something fun or enjoyable, or knock out something that needs to get done, I tend to “do the hard things first” and knock out the thing that needs to get done. There is something very motivating to me about the delayed gratification of doing something I enjoy AFTER I have done what needs to be done. If I need to take the trash to the road, but I want to watch TV – I will go ahead and take the trash to the road and think about what I want to watch while I am doing it (I have a looong driveway). When I get back, I can more fully enjoy watching TV without the guilt of knowing there is something that needs to get done. I’ll also tend to knock out a few other things while I am “in motion” like taking something to the car that needs to go to the office, etc. There are limits of course. There is ALWAYS something that “needs to get done” so you have to know where to draw the line. I think it’s easy to “feel” when you are facing the decision. Think about doing the hard things first for a while and see how that might change things for you.

Bargains to be had in the CK in the CK Deals site – Since the big inventory blowout sale has been over we have been able to use the Deals area of the site more purely for what it was originally intended for. As of this writing there are 11 items that are on sale and showing up in the deals area and we will have more coming soon. Be sure to go take a look and check it out often! A few things to note right now:

[Read more…] about CEO Daily Update – 7.27.2020

CEO Daily Update – 7.24.2020

by

Happy Friday!

Several weeks ago a great friend of mine, Jason Montoya, interviewed me for his Inspirational People series. What a blast!

You can listen or watch. Here it is: https://www.jasonscottmontoya.com/inspiration/people/537-craig-haynie

We talk about my weight loss, Crohn’s disease diagnosis, and alternate paths and what causes outcomes in our lives. We talk about how COVID has forced people into thinking about doing things in ways different from what has been normal. At CK we had to learn how to work from home effectively – how we would run meetings via video, interact with external people, etc. Once we figured out how to make it work, we became more effective than we were before.

You’ll hear about my early childhood growing up poor and struggling in school, and my journey from the trailer park to becoming an entrepreneur to starting CablesAndKits, and beyond.

I talk about my Plan, Build, Run framework and how that is a part of how we are transforming CablesAndKits. After 13 years of $1M year over year growth we found ourselves plateaued for 5 years and came to realize that as Einstein said, “Problems cannot be solved by the same level of thinking that created them”. Realizing that there are generally three distinct rhythm types needed in business was an eye-opener for us and realizing and navigating how to structure roles to leverage these rhythms has been the journey we have been on.
I talk about how the outcome is more important than the friction we encounter, and discovering where you want to go is a prerequisite to the conviction needed to get there. You have to have the will to overcome the obstacles that stand in your way.

We talk about how we ended up selling Safety Supplies and the importance of the entrepreneur being near the front edges of the business, not living in the middle, which turned out to be the reason we plateaued for 5 years.

We also discuss our three-pillar approach to building a business unit – Product, Marketing, and Channel, and how visibility and accountability results in sustainability.

And so much more! Give it a listen and give me your thoughts and feedback! I always love to hear from you.  

From Joe, our friendly Safety Supplies Product Marketer:

WOW! Yesterday I mentioned Lysol wipes are back on the site again and I didn’t think they’d last long, and they didn’t! By the time lunch rolled around we were sold out of every single Lysol wipe we had. Crazy! Don’t worry though, we have plenty of other Cleaning wipes that will get the job done as well as some other variations on the way!

[Read more…] about CEO Daily Update – 7.24.2020

CEO Daily Update – 7.23.2020

by

I’m Gonna Make a Change | We Found Joe! | Guest Post with Important SEO News

Happy Day AFTER HUUUUUMMMMPPP DAAAAAAAAAYYY!

First and foremost, people really got a kick out of my coincidental coinage carnage commentary. I laughed pretty hard when Sue, our accounting manager, sent me a meme that was a picture of a fountain overflowing with coins and the caption “Coin shortage was from people wishing 2020 was over”. Hahaha!

Speaking of change, I can’t help but think of Michael Jackson’s Man in the Mirror …. “I’m gonna make a change”. I think the lyric of this song is great for where we are as a country right now. It’s easy to get all flustrated (as our warehouse manager Chad says) due to our circumstances and try to find someone else to blame for our problems. Maybe you can, maybe you can’t, but you can always start with the man in the mirror. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zqe5NP86OCc

And while SOMEONE is on a Michael Jackson kick ..… 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQY_QL_wvQU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_E2r2vOlqvA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfrV_6yWbEg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skkISI06YN4

I never saw him live (wish I had) and I am not even joking … I cried when he died. 

From Joe, our friendly Safety Supplies Product Marketer:

[Read more…] about CEO Daily Update – 7.23.2020

CEO Daily Update – 7.22.2020

by

Product Managers…Change Shortage…and a Missing Joe…
Oh My!

Happy HUUUUUMMMMPPP DAAAAAAAAAYYY!

I can’t believe it is the middle of the week already. The first two days of my work week went by in a flash. Lots of fun though …. We are working on SO many cool new products. So much fun. Child face masks, washable fabric face masks in child, kid, and adult sizes, UV light wands, hand sanitizer advertising kiosks, and sock puppets (just making sure you’re listening), among other things. I am having so much fun being involved in product development, and I hope you are enjoying / finding value in the things we work on / launch. More to come soon as we get closer to launching some of these new products.

As a leadership team, one of the main strategic things we have been working on over the last several months is building what we call product management and specifically product marketing disciplines and roles. The idea of product management is having someone focused on understanding our customers and their needs, our competitors, and what the market is saying we need to work on including new products and new channels to market. Depending on how many total product lines we have at the time we will have several product managers focused on different customer segments and product groups. Within each product group will be product marketers, who own lists of products and are responsible for the overall sales, profit, and inventory health of that list of products.

In the past we have had exactly zero product managers or product marketers. Now that we have made this a focus we have someone leading the charge of building the team (Rebecca, nicknamed Rerun), and one dedicated product marketer (Joe), who oversees safety supplies. We have been working together weekly to figure out our reporting and the rhythms of the role, and are already working on hiring our next product marketer who will be over fiber cabling. From there we will hire others for Ethernet, Transceivers, Switches, etc. What that means is that as we hire new people to focus on these areas, the products will begin to receive the day to day attention they deserve – and that you deserve as a customer!

I just thought I would share a little about our strategy while it was on my mind. Maybe you find it interesting or useful!

So apparently, we have a change shortage. A CHANGE shortage. Due to a variety of proverbial trains going off the tracks, we are struggling to have enough change … (CHANGE!) to do business. https://www.forbes.com/sites/advisor/2020/07/20/is-there-really-a-coin-shortage/#4dd4f3e1f0a3

I cannot decide how to feel.

[Read more…] about CEO Daily Update – 7.22.2020

CEO Daily Update – 7.21.2020

by

Counterfeit Cisco | Lower Prices on Thermometers and Masks

Happy Tuesday!

I hope the first day of your week went well. It was my first day back at work in a little over a week of course, and while I thought it was going to be hard to get into the swing of things it all started flowing pretty well right away. I have some really great leaders and I love meeting with them weekly to hear what’s going on and to give feedback and guidance. Some things we do saps our energy and some things give us energy. Meeting with leaders and hearing how they are moving things forward is certainly one of the things that GIVES me energy! The coffee didn’t hurt.  

Counterfeit Cisco switches
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2020/07/15/counterfeit-cisco-switches/

Someone sent this article to me and I thought it was worth sharing with commentary. First of all, you all know that CablesAndKits sells pre-owned Cisco. What you may not know is that the entire pre-owned industry is vulnerable to counterfeit product. Why would I say that?! Because it is true, and you need to know – and you need to know what to do about it. Being as I am your trusty networking products CEO I am going to tell you!

First of all, let me paint a picture for you. Let’s say that you want to buy a nice pre-owned car. Do you go to Carmax, your local brand name auto dealer, or do you buy one sight unseen from some guy you met in a waffle house at 2am? The shady guy in the waffle house may have a “great deal” for you, but aren’t you a bit concerned with where he got this car, if he actually owns it, if it runs right, etc? Perhaps instead you go to the local Chevrolet dealer because surely they have your best interest in mind – but they buy many of their used cars from auto auctions and they don’t ALWAYS get the best ones. Or, maybe you’ll consider Carmax. Not only can you find a good deal on a good ride, you can trust that they have gone through the car with a fine-tooth comb to ensure it hasn’t been wrecked and repaired to the point YOU cannot tell. That is one of their brand promises – a GOOD deal (not always a great one), on a GOOD car. (I own no stock in Carmax, and have never bought a car there – but I am very well aware of their brand position)

The pre-owned Cisco industry (or any pre-owned industry) is the same – in addition to the “traditional” ways of buying, there are people that make it their business to be someone you can trust, and that is how they build a reputation and a long-term business – providing you value and minimizing or eliminating the risk. This is what CablesAndKits exists to do – to “add value to your IT infrastructure”…. to help you save money on your IT spend while reducing or eliminating your risk – and we’ve been doing just that for almost 19 years. (Gosh I am getting old)

[Read more…] about CEO Daily Update – 7.21.2020

CEO Daily Update – 7.20.2020

by

I got the ‘Rona! | Disinfectant Sprays and Wipes | Kids’ face masks coming soon

Happy Monday!

When I signed off Friday before last I said I had been dragging that day. Little did I know, I had come down with the ‘rona. I write my emails the night before so Friday’s email was written Thursday night. When I got home I wasn’t feeling that great and by the time I went to bed I discovered I had a fever of 100.0. Some people would say that is not a “fever” but if I am 98.7 it’s a fever to me. I hoped and prayed for the best but when I woke up Friday morning I was worse, and my temp was 101.5. I decided to go ahead to the urgent care for Covid testing. I called ahead and they had a drive-through setup and said they would test me for flu and strep at the same time.

I headed to the place around 12:30 and waited in line about 3 hours. That sucked. The longer I was there the worse I felt. I had a conference call scheduled for 3pm that I didn’t cancel as part of my time off, and I was on and off video while having swabs shoved in various places. The timing was fantastic – ha! Speaking of swabs – O. M. G. … they shoved the swab so far up into my sinuses that I thought they were going to bruise my brain. It was absolutely uncomfortable. When she was done I said “Don’t I get a lollipop or something?”. They said I would get my results in 2-5 days (it took 5). I said hey wait a minute what about the flu and strep test we talked about on the phone? They weren’t even going to do them. She said oh yea we can do that if you want. I’m like “no, I drove all the way here and sat in line 3 hours and I am willing to drive away not knowing if I have two of the most common illnesses. What sort of sense does that make?” (I am pretty sure I said all that). She said we will swab you again and you’ll know in 5 minutes. Both were negative.

So it was obvious that I needed to quarantine (can you believe that they gave me no instructions whatsoever when they tested me) and fortunately we have a guest room with its own bath and a second living room with TV so I was able to stay away from the family. I spent Fri-Sun on the couch watching Star Trek TNG, and the rest of the week watching more Star Trek and several movies I had never seen including Pulp Fiction (Crazy) and the three Godfather movies (Hard to follow). I drank more water and ate more ice than I think I ever have in my life and somehow lost 8lbs I’d been wanting to lose so I guess there is a silver lining. Like Emily said in The Devil Wear Prada – “I am just one stomach flu away from my goal weight”

I was pretty rough Fri-Sun with 102.5 fever, chills, headaches, my eyes hurt to move, and some minor to moderate sinus issues. Monday I was 50% better and Tue I was 85% better with no fever. I was just tired/weak. I stayed that way, only slightly improving each day through Sat when I felt 90%. Sunday I felt 95% and even got outside and did a couple things that I needed to do before I got sick. As I write this email Sunday night I feel mostly myself – maybe 97% and hope tonight my sleep will bring me back to normal.

I feel cheated out of a “vacation” of course. The CDC recommends that you stay quarantined 10 days from your first symptom and 3 days from last fever. The 10 days puts me back in service today, just in time to start back to work. So now I need a vacation hahaha.

[Read more…] about CEO Daily Update – 7.20.2020