Spring 2009 issue of Horizons

Raise Your Expectations CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS AND BUSINESS CONSULTANTS

What best practices have you put in place at Meridian to weather the economic recession and sustain the business? We are looking now at how much current business we have and how much we are able to retain; our budgets are determined by this analysis. We are also looking at capital expenditures and asking if any of them can be postponed. Then, we try to see if we can automate certain procedures that we have in place to create more efficiency instead of increasing labor cost. We really ask for everyone’s input in terms of efficiency. Business owners and managers really need a respect for employees and an appreciation for what they do day in and day out; this is a key element in our industry. Besides intellectual property, the biggest asset we have is our people. We need both of these elements – the tools alone cannot deliver on our promises to our clients and customers. The management team must continually pay attention to this advice: have great respect for your people. Any advice you would have for other business owners, any words of wisdom?

Is there any area of your business we did not cover that you would like to tell our readers about? We have an e-commerce division that is a fast-growing division for us. We provide online tools for manufacturers to become direct merchants to new channels for them. It offers them a turnkey operation, from site creation all the way through to reverse logistics. It has been a very good area for our business and, like our awards and incentive products and services, is developing on a global scale. “We will always deliver what we say we will, not just on paper, but in the spirit that it was intended.”

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u spring 2009 issue