Stay updated with breaking news from Shu dwa shugar. Get real-time updates on events, politics, business, and more. Visit us for reliable news and exclusive interviews.
>> shu dw a shugar took a hard the market and decided he needed to reinvent his company. he knew the hotels were easily able to replace his soap because his brand didn't mean anything to their customers. he launched a new product line under his own brand name, venezia. it sells at big lots, odd lots, and t.j. maxx stores across the country. he developed relationships creating soap line for trader joe's and the 99-cent store. >> china showed me that i cannot compete with them packagingwise. it must be on a productivity level of how good my product is, how good my soap is, how good a quality the product is. >> he also reviewed his costs and started cutting. laying off 3/4 of his staff. it's 1:00 in the afternoon, and we're looking at your factory, and it is empty. quiet. all the machines are off. why don't you run it all day? >> we run until 1:00 for a specific reason. 1 -- the main reason is for
electricity. we are allowed a lower rate since we don't take electricity after 1:00. ♪ >> after 18 months in the red, shugar soapworks is profitable again. while he expects to more bumps in the road ahead, shugar feels confident that because he survived this he can handle almost anything. >> i believe i walked through the fire and i made it to the other side. you know, i believe it made me stronger. really, i'm glad it happened to me. i'm glad i'm able to sit here and talk to with a smile on my face saying we made it. we made it. as we've seen to stay competitive in this challenging economic market, many entrepreneurs are being forced to have a backup plan. and when a company need to change on a dime, so do its employees. our next guest has tips to help your business stay reinvention ready. pamela mitchell is the founder
being competitive in the marketplace. our hotel client were saying, your prices are too high. ♪ >> ron fernandez was shugar's broker. he bought soap from shugar soapworks and, in turn, sold it to some of las vegas' biggest hotels. but that wasn't enough to save the partnership. when fernandez learned he could source the same products he was getting from shugar for 25% to 30% less overseas. with the loss of the vegas business, shugar soapworks' revenue plunged from $5 million a year to less than half of that. >> within one fell swoop, it really dropped significantly. >> things were not looking good for the company. but shugar wasn't ready to close the doors just yet. >> instead of sitting around saying, oh, poor me, why did i lose that -- could i have done something better -- no. what we have to look for is what's in the future. what's next here and the year after. ♪
and ceo of the reinvention institute. she's also the author of the book "the ten laws of career reinvention: essential survival skills for any economy." i love the name of your company, the reinvention institute. it's fantastic. >> thank you. >> so one of the things you say is that people need to create an annual reinvention plan which for a company that, let's say, is doing well, might be hard to sit back and say why do i have to do this. >> right. but the thing about it is having a reinvention plan is like having insurance for your business. like with shugar, one day he got a phone call, half his business disappeared. if every year he sat down and said what would i do if my primary business went away, what steps would i take, he would have actually been prepared and been able to launch something right off the bat. >> you know what's also -- doing that might give you the focus to say what do i like about my business weather and traffic do i -- it's another way of taking a hard look at your business. >> and thinking about what areas should you be going into.
people? >> no, you should have key staffers, as well. the thing is that when the company needs to reinvent itself, so do the people. so you really want to get your key staffers in the mode of career reinvention. how to we move ourselves and the company forward. >> right. that moves into your next point which is ban excuses. from yourself, from your employees, from -- >> exactly. you know, reinvention is very much of a challenge. and so we're resistent to change. we like to do the things that we've done, and especially we're busy so we don't want to do it. oh, i don't have time. you've got to ban these excuses. as i said, reinvention is insurance. it's important. >> you'll have time when your company's out of business for that to happen. >> exactly. >> then give it time. nothing happens overnight. >> that's exactly it. i mean, the thing is is that it's preparation and opportunity. and you can control your preparation, but you don't control when opportunity shows up. you got to wait -- you got to make sure that you have enough time to let something play itself out. don't try to reinvent yourself when you're in a crisis mode like shugar was. by that point, you're scared.