Philip and Susan Beyer visited System100 client, Baton Rouge Press, during their recent business trip to Texas and Louisiana in early June. Meeting with owner/president Pat Prather and Robin Crumpler, BRP's general manager, for several hours, the Beyer's were impressed and encouraged about the direction Baton Rouge Press is taking with systemization. Both Pat and Robin have championed System100 software as "the right solution" for the company, and invited Philip to spend a week this summer working with BRP staff to further integrate System100 software with their MIS program and other systems.   

Philip Beyer, developer of System100 software, spoke on continual improvement and the power of systemization to more than ninety of the ICED (International Center for Entrepreneurial Development) leadership, franchise owners and vendors during the ICED 2010 Executive Conference, held June 3-5, 2010 at the Northwest Forest Conference Center in Cypress (Houston), Texas. Also attending the 3-day event were System100 clients, Henry & Fay Golczynski, owners of Franklin's Printing in Murfreesboro, Tennessee; and Danny Oblad, owner of Kwik Kopy in Salt Lake City, Utah. Other speakers for the conference included Jeff Hayzlett, author and Chief Marketing Officer for Eastman Kodak.  ICED has a proud tradition and long history of creating franchising successes. Founder of Kwik Kopy Printing in the late 1960s—ICED has experienced ongoing growth through expansion into other franchise industries.

On May Day, 2010, the rains came to Nashville.  And, as if a giant hand was emptying the contents of an enormous pitcher dipped from the not-yet-oily Gulf, Music City and much of Middle Tennessee watched as all chaos broke loose. The massive weather system parked over the area in what at least one news anchor called a “perfect storm”—one system pressing against another, like two opposing fists, stalling the heavy rains and drenching residents in a “500-year flood.”

 

With the exception of an F-3 tornado, sporting 200 mph winds that ravaged Greater Nashville in April of 1998, most people think of Middle Tennessee as the last place to look for a natural disaster. Still, the May first rains of 2010 caused rivers, streams and ponds to rise to dangerous levels, spilling over their banks into the most unexpected places. After only two days, homes generally thought to be far from a flood plain stood in water to their roof lines. Interstate highways became waterways where cars, trucks and even a mobile home floated dangerously among debris and other half-sunken vehicles.

 

Emergency workers, many in borrowed row boats, made their way past mostly submerged street signs to rescue in-city residents and workers. Hundreds were air-lifted to safety. Sadly, more than thirty people lost their lives in the rush of water, and hundreds of others lost their homes. 

 

Business came to a standstill that first week in May, as if the already faltering economy wasn’t enough! Only a few miles away from our offices, furniture and equipment floated freely inside Music City’s famed Grand Ole Opry House. And the substantial operations of the also grand, 3200-room Gaylord-Opryland Hotel came to a halt, as the normally serene waters of the Cumberland River caused nearly 2,000 hotel guests and personnel to abandon the flooding complex.

 

Many businesses stopped doing business altogether, that May Day. Our business, sitting on higher ground, was one of the “lucky” ones!

 

On a clear day, nearly eighteen years ago, I experienced a flood in my own company that nearly caused me to shut down operations permanently. I was only in my fifth year as an owner of a small printing company. More and more the business had become steeped in disorder, high waste ratios, upset customers, unmet due dates, lost revenue—one big mess! The thought of one more day of it became intolerable. Was every business so inundated by a tsunami of disorder as mine was? 

 

That's when I determined to find a way out of all that chaos and bring sustainable order to my business. I’m happy to say, we did that!

 

Like an unexpected flood in what's thought to be a “safe” place, life can change in a heart beat. Natural disasters aside—without order, your once-promising business can become your worst, most stressful and expensive nightmare. The important thing is to recognize the signs that can lead to disaster in your business, so when the waters of chaos begin to rise to unsafe levels, you can be prepared. Better yet—to have great systems in place that are proactive against unsafe levels!

 

Our thoughts and prayers go out to all those Nashville business owners and residents that suffered loss in the recent flooding. I’m confident that our resilient community will come back more resolute than ever to live well and do better business—after all, we’re Nashville!

NASHVILLE, TN [May, 2010]

In April, 2010, Vanderbilt University marketing students Igor Ges, Stephen Passiak and Chris Montes-Sabino collaborated with Philip Beyer, founder/president of Ebiz Products LLC and Beyer Printing Inc. in Nashville, on a six-week marketing project for their final semester grade. Students were asked to determine the relevance of Beyer's System100™ software for various types of businesses, and to recommend ways to market the product.  Employing extensive research, the students reviewed the product with regard to viability, ease of application, low cost and risk, environmental factors, and comparative software applications. Ultimately, the students identified System100™ as * "Totally unique…nothing to compare with it…a great product that represents a new force in its market, pushing the envelope of innovation in business process management, and providing its customers with an effective way to manage their organizations.” 

 

“I’m thankful for the opportunity to meet and work with these special young men—for their insights and, by their example, for encouraging me about our future business leaders!"  ...Philip Beyer. 

* The findings of the above named students does not in any way serve as an endorsement of the System100 product by Vanderbilt University or any others.

Philip Beyer, founder/president of Ebiz Products LLC and Beyer Printing Inc. in Nashville, Tennessee became a recipient of the 2009 InterTech Technology Award for the design and development of System 100™ premiere business process management software. The prestigious award, presented annually by Printing Industries of America, was inaugurated in 1978 as a way to honor the development of technologies predicted to have a major impact in the graphic arts and related industries. This year’s awards ceremony was held during the Print 09 Conference at the McCormick Center in Chicago, Illinois. Other recipients of the 2009 Award include Kodak, Fujifilm and Heidelberg.  Click here for a complete list of recipients.

A recent recipient of the 2009 InterTech Technology Award, Nashville printer Philip Beyer admits he nearly threw in the towel years ago, and this year’s downturn in the economy might have been the last straw.  But Beyer’s dream of a successful printing business and strong faith that it was meant to be—not to mention a whole lot of hard work—has paid off for the once struggling musician-turned-print entrepreneur.

“It’s sad to hear on the nightly news, that many have given up seeking work in these times. What would I be doing now if I had just given up when times were tough and my dreams were discouraged,” says Beyer, founder/president of Beyer Printing, Inc. and Ebiz Products LLC.  “The rewards for just putting one foot ahead of the other every day—no matter what—are worth all the stubbed toes I got along the way. And there were plenty of those!”

Beyer says he got his ‘never say die’ attitude from his parents.  Born in New Orleans, Louisiana, he was one of eight children raised in a small three-bedroom home in Baton Rouge by Pastor Henry T. and Armellia Beyer.  Beyer’s big brother Billy, owner of Beyer Printing of Baton Rouge, was the first son to discover printer’s ink in his veins, and young Philip found himself running a press at only fourteen.

“I guess you might say we were poor back then—one car, one bathroom, no TV, no credit cards, no money for movies or trips to the mall, and no A/C—air conditioning came through open windows, even when it was 100 degrees and 100% humidity. But Dad didn’t complain about anything we lacked, or blame the heat on things like global warming, so we didn’t learn to complain about the heat either—we just called it 'summer'.  My parents instilled a strong work ethic in us by example that has driven everything I do in my life.” 

Opening his first printing company in Music City in 1988, Beyer felt certain he would take the industry by storm.  But by 1993, he had nearly succumbed to the chaos that plagues so many small businesses.  “I didn’t own a business,” Beyer recalls, “it owned me!” Giving up would have been too easy then, but a series of events drove Beyer to spend the next dozen years manually developing internal business processes that totally systemized his commercial printing company. In 2005, based on his manual systems, Beyer developed System100™—the browser-based software that has become the “brain trust” for his companies; and now drives many other businesses across the country; also in Canada and Australia.

Beyer’s book, System Busters: How to Stop Them in Your Business, has become a much-used desk item for many companies seeking to go lean in these times.   

On Sunday, September 14, during the Print’09 Conference in Chicago, Beyer’s software System100™ received the 2009 InterTech Technology Award from the Printing Industries of America. That would never have happened if he had stopped short of his dreams like too many of us do.  Beyer believes his main mission now is to help other business owners and managers find order and peace in their own businesses through sustainable systemization.

System100™ Software was designed to eliminate reruns, bottlenecks, chaos and other forms of waste in a company and is able to revitalize or turnkey any type or size operation in just a matter of months. One of the winning features of the software, called the “System Buster,” addresses problems, investigates the cause, suggests remedies, and allows for continual and sustainable improvement in a company—all in one seamless operation.  

Philip Beyer is an example that perseverance pays off.  “I feel I need to pass on a little of Dad’s, now my, philosophy to a bunch of good people who aren’t feeling very confident about their work situation just now,” says Beyer. “There’s still work to do for the one who won’t stop the presses short of his or her dreams. Just don't give up!”

Print entrepreneur and author, Philip Beyer a strong proponent of sustainable, money-saving business systems and processes—was one of the speakers at this year’s Continuous Improvement Conference hosted in Lexington, Kentucky by Printing Industries of America and the Graphic Arts Technical Foundation (GATF). Touting systemization to the nearly two hundred attendees of the five-day conference, Beyer stressed the need for business owners to “simplify” their lives, by “downloading” their knowledge and expertise into easy-to-follow checklists, “to ensure quality control, eliminate reruns, and actually measure any chaos in your company, for a permanent fix.”  Beyer’s book System Busters: How to Stop Them in Your Business is now a much-used desk item for business owners across the nation.

Nashville Businessman Philip Beyer prescribed, "Systemization, not bail-outs,” during the 4th Annual Bill Treadaway Print Leadership Forum, at Clemson University early this month. Beyer, the Keynote speaker for the Forum’s closing banquet, also spoke to dozens of Graphic Communications students during a two-hour session, about the importance of Lean and sustainable business practices for the 21st century marketplace. 

Author of the popular business book, System Busters: How to Stop Them in Your Business, Beyer was invited by Dr. John Leininger, senior lecturer of Graphic Communications at Clemson, to speak to students, faculty and special guests from the printing industry, about his ten-year journey to the total-systemization of his Nashville business. Print Industry VIPs included Joe Truncale, President/CEO of NAPL (The Trade Association For Excellence In Graphic Communications Management); “The Public Printer” Bob Tapella, CEO for the U.S. Government Printing Office; and Stephen L. Johnson, President of R.R. Donnelley-State SC, and Vice Chairman of NAPL. 

Touting Beyer’s book, Dr. Leininger has become a firm believer in the need of sustainable systems for all the graphics industry and has begun implementing System100™ software at Clemson.

“Speaking to Dr. Leininger’s class was an eye-opener,” Beyer commented. “I was impressed by so many wholesome, engaged young people who asked honestly-interested and good questions.” Students were required to read Beyer’s book prior to his visit. Later, when asked to describe their personal experiences as interns in numerous printing companies across America, the students agreed that, “most print businesses are just managed chaos.”  Beyer was elated, “These young people actually get it about the need for leaner business practice. I have renewed hope for the future leaders of our country, and in the quality of their teachers. I’m humbled by what I experienced at Clemson.” Beyer’s book System Busters is now required reading and part of the syllabus for all Clemson Graphic Communications students.

Philip Beyer used to run his business in chaos—with only four employees, the owner  of Nashville, Tennessee-based Beyer Printing never had time to take a lunch break, much less a day off.  “Every time I left I worried that the business would fall apart,” be says.  Even though his company was growing, Beyer was reluctant to pursue new business, because he didn’t think he could handle the growing pains. “I no longer owned the business,” he says, “It owned me.” After five years, working 70 hours a week or more, Beyer knew something had to change, so he started reading every management book he could get his hands on.  He soon discovered a solution. “There are dozens of time wasters that entrepreneurs get caught up in—they don’t realize what these cost their business,” he says.  So Beyer set out to uncover the biggest offenders in his company.  Here are five time bandits that crept up on his business—and how he beat them:

1—CLUTTER.  Step into Beyer’s printing shop and pressroom, and you won’t see a scrap of loose paper anywhere.  But it wasn’t always that way—it used to take half an hour or more to locate misplaced items and orders. The more business Beyer got, the bigger the stack of papers behind his desk grew. But that changed, once he implemented a daily system of cleaning. Now everything is put in a designated, convenient place—and often it’s filed away in a clear plastic bin. Supplies like printer cartridges are ordered in advance, before they run out, so no one wastes time searching for the original box with the product description. “Nothing is left to chance,” Beyer says.

2—INTERRUPTIONS.  How many times have you been immersed in a project only to be interrupted by a phone call or a company crisis? When you finally get a chance to return to what you were doing, you forget where you were.  With distractions like these happening to Beyer and his staff, it was easy to get thrown off course. No matter how small the interruptions were, they added up.  Beyer eliminated this problem by developing a system of checklists for all of the tasks within his company. Now neither he nor his employees are “under pressure to remember everything, because there are prompts to help,” says Beyer.

3—MEETINGS.  Beyer’s staff meetings on Monday mornings used to eat away half the day.  Now they run closer to 30 minutes and happen only every two weeks or so.  “Meetings usually occur because something is going wrong and the manager needs to get everyone back on the same page,” Beyer says.  But simply discussing problems rarely solves them—it only creates a cycle that eventually requires another meeting.  With a system in place to ensure tasks are completed correctly and on time, Beyer has no reason to call as many emergency meetings—“Any meetings we have now are used to come up with more creative ideas."

4—MISCOMMUNICATIONS.  This is one of the biggest time wasters that catch companies off guard, and it can also be one of the most costly when work must be redone to correct mistakes made because of mixed messages or faulty information. Developing checklists for production and quality control helped Beyer clearly communicate expectations to employees.  And though employees weren’t always eager to tell him about oversights, Beyer created a forum for them to share their ideas on how to run the business more smoothly.  He even does estimated and actual time reports, "to compare the time we thought it would take to do something, to the time it actually took.”

5—MICRO-MANAGING.  “When you’re running a business, YOU are  everything to everybody,” Beyer says. “The tension is incredible!” Not only did Beyer oversee the day-to-day duties of his business, he also took orders and did customer service. He couldn’t leave the office without employees calling to ask questions. Paying attention to every detail kept him so stressed out, that even his dentist asked why he was clenching his jaw so hard.  By creating a system for customer service and order entry and hiring someone to manage it, he was able to gain relief and focus on building his business. 

Once Beyer banished these TIME BANDITS, the savings in time and money filtered through every facet of his business.  “Customers started noticing that we were always consistent and on time, every time,” Beyer says. Impressed by the consistency and quality of his shop, they began making referrals to his business. Beyer found time to take a vacation, and employees found the freedom to be more innovative. Now Beyer works fewer than 40 hours most weeks—and he’s even found time to start a new business, Ebiz Products LLC, which provides software and manuals to help other business owners get organized.  His mantra? “None of it is rocket science,” he says. “Everyone can do this! Great systems WORK!”