NAPSA's The Hopper - July 2021

The Official Newsletter of the North American Power Sweeping Association

What’s in The Hopper?

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President’s Message Planning Your Company Exit 2021 Virtual Mid-Year Meeting Get Certified With an Emphasis on Construction Today’s Biggest Cybersecurity Threats Create Value to Make Your Business Better NAPSA Congratulates 1-800-Sweeper – More Than a Number!

NAPSA Partners Gold

Silver

Bronze

Schwarze Industries TYMCO, Inc. Elgin Sweeper Company Nite-Hawk Sweepers Victory Sweepers Dulevo Americas Ltd. Stewart-Amos Sweeper Co. Visual App World Insurance Associates United Rotary Brush Corp.

1-800-SWEEPER Keystone Old Dominion Brush Isuzu Commercial Truck of America, Inc.

Call for Content THE HOPPER, the official newsletter for NAPSA, warmly welcomes article ideas, content, and photos submitted by members. Don’t be shy. This is your newsletter. Send content, high-resolution pictures, and ideas to the attention of the editor at info@ powersweeping.org.

3rd Quarter 2021 | Vol. 5 | Issue 3

Recruitment Woes

By Chris Dick, President

It seems like everywhere I hear of power sweepers who are struggling to get bodies behind the wheels. It is not only this industry, unfortunately.

Many companies are asking what they can do to attract and retain employees.

One NAPSA member, Jay Presutti of East Coast Industrial, has taken his concerns to the next level. On June 22, Jay organized a roundtable hosted by his local Chamber of Commerce in the hope of bringing attention to this plight of the small businessperson. Watch the video of this session by entering this link into your browser: https://youtu. be/1qphZCPvBDY. If you are inclined to set up a similar roundtable, a similar session could bring great vision to this shared need. If you’re not, then you may be asking yourself what to do. One way that seems to add value and help with retention is employee training. There is a perception of value when an employer invests in the training of their employees. Training employees to do their job correctly trickles down into pride in their career as well as enhanced professionalism for the company. So where can you find professional training for the power sweeping industry?

Years of blood sweat and tears for dozens of NAPSA members and beta testers have culminated in the release of multiple powerful training tools. Certified Sweeping Operator (CSO) programs have come online for parking lot and construction sweeping.

“Municipality” is slated for the future.

These operator training programs create a great baseline of training for improved

professionalism in your drivers. These can be found at www.SweeperSchool. com.

Upon completion of the CSO program, the owner gives the driver a verbal test, then certifies that the certification candidate has at least 1,000 hours of incident-free sweeper driving. NAPSA then issues the driver a certificate, hat pin, and uniform patch recognizing their accomplishment.

The second training option available at www.SweeperSchool.com is our Certified Sweeping Manager series.

This training track teaches about the Power Sweeping Standard. Managers gain valuable insight to the standard, which translates to better management in your operation. Lastly, there is a course called Fleet Basics. This course covers general topics for anyone who isn’t behind the wheel, but may need to speak the lingo. It is worth the $20, hands down.

The education found at SweeperSchool is invaluable. NAPSA members receive deep discounts on the training at SweeperSchool. For more information, contact the North American Power Sweeping Association at info@powersweeping.org or 888757-0130. n

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Planning Your Company Exit

By Karen M. Smith

Few entrepreneurs establish their businesses with plans to exit their companies. They’re focused on other matters. However, as market circumstances, age, and other factors may dictate, eventually the time comes when the business owner must separate from the business. Like most business endeavors, the exit is best planned well in advance of departure.

Image courtesy of geralt on Pixabay.com.

Why Plan Your Exit? “[Sixty-two] percent of family business leaders plan to ‘pass the baton’ to the next generation, but just 18 percent have a robust, documented succession plan in place,” reports Financial Executives International. Business advisory firm Goodman Jones further states that “less than a third of family businesses survive into the second generation.

Just 12% make it to the third, and just 3% reach the fourth generation or beyond.” Basically, if you want the business into which you poured time, energy, and sweat to survive, it’s best to plan for its continuity.

Another common and excellent reason to plan an exit strategy is to leave the company on your terms.

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Your reasons for leaving the business may include retirement, boredom (you want to explore other business interests), exhaustion (burnout or physical illness), deteriorating market, and so forth. Barring catastrophe forcing an immediate, unplanned exit, developing a robust exit strategy enables the entrepreneur to: • Envision what retirement will look like, • Determine the financial resources needed to achieve that retirement, and

• Discover the gap between that vision and the real value of the company.

Exit planning makes good sense for every size business expected to continue after the owner leaves.

Developing an Exit Plan Both the US Chamber of Commerce and the Small Business Administration offer advice with regard to the development of a robust exit plan to ease the transition of the business to new management, regardless of whether that new management is the next generation in the family or an investor (or group

of investors) who purchases the company in part or in whole.

A proper exit strategy begins with the thorough preparation of both personal and business finances, operational processes, etc. Once you have a complete understanding of you and your business’ current financial situation, consider what’s needed to 1) close the gap between its present condition and your goals and 2) to consider the best succession options. Exit strategy options include: • Liquidation (closing the business) • Management buy-out (selling the business to the existing team of managers) • Selling the business to a financial investor (someone who intends to re-sell the business at a profit)

• Selling the business to a strategic investor (someone who intends to use the business to expand or improve another business interest) • An initial public offering to sell shares of the business to the public.

In any of the above scenarios, except the first, closing the gap between the goal and current circumstances requires a thorough analysis of the business. This includes a SWOT analysis to determine the company’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, all of which factor into operational efficiency, market dominance, and future viability. This analysis provides information crucial to forming an action plan that will adjust, replace, or terminate business activities and processes that don’t serve to increase enterprise value. The plan, which may take months to develop, will take three to five years to fully execute and mature.

Be aware that most business owners grossly miscalculate the value of their companies. Part of the exit plan is setting an accurate price on

the business, taking into account both tangible and intangible assets, as well as debts and liabilities. Tangible assets include inventory, equipment, and real property. Intangible assets may include contracts with employees who have specific, crucial expertise, market goodwill, customer databases, patents, etc. An unrealistic valuation of the enterprise can have serious financial consequences.

Exit Plan Benefits Development of a robust exit strategy with thorough preparation for handing off the business to new management confers several advantages to seller, buyer, staff, suppliers, and customers. From a personal standpoint, staff feel reassured of their continued gainful employment; the business owner feels secure in achieving financial

goals and the satisfaction of seeing the business continue to thrive; the buyer enjoys the satisfaction of a prudent investment that generates When it’s time to leave the business, choose the right option that continued enables you to depart on your terms and leaves a thriving company in profit; suppliers take good hands. with regularly, it’s best to consult with reassurance in the continuation of an advisor specializing in enterprise lucrative contracts; and, customers are valuation, business exit strategy reassured that the products and/or development, and value creation. The services upon which they depend will advisor will bring in outside expertise continue to be available at the same (e.g., accounting, legal) as needed or better quality. as well as serve as a contact point Because exit planning isn’t bringing the business owner and something most entrepreneurs deal prospective buyers into contact. n

2021 Virtual Mid-Year Meeting As the pandemic is still affecting the in-person meeting and trade show schedules for most of us, the 1-800-SWEEPER Mid-Year meeting planned for Dallas, TX was once again moved to a virtual format.

When life gives you lemons…. make lemonade! And that’s just what 1-800-SWEEPER did for their annual Mid-Year Meeting, the precurser to the organization’s premiere event, the 2021 Sweeper Summit & Equipment Expo which will take place in-person in November at the Hilton Lake Las Vegas.

The meeting was supported by Gold Sponsor Schwarze Industries and was held on June 9th & 10th in two, 2-hour sessions. Other vendor sponsors included Silver Sponsors Elgin, Go Canvas and Keystone Plastics and Bronze Sponsors Kimball Midwest, Baldwin Filters and

Liquitube.

The agenda consisted of an update on the activities and new programs rolled out by 1-800-SWEEPER, including 2 new initiatives: The Mentor Program and a Business Ownership Transition Planning Program.Vendor presentations were made by Schwarze Industries, Go Canvas, Keystone Plastics and Elgin.

The highlight of the meeting was the presentation by 1-800-SWEEPER Partner, Mark Carter of Peloton Sweeping, titled Beast Mode Hiring.

Mark gave an informative 75-minute presentation on guerrilla marketing tactics and hiring practices, that are very beneficial and timely in today’s hiring climate.

We’d like to thank our 30 Partner companies for taking the time to participate in the 2-day event!

Ben Steyer, Executive Director of

1-800-SWEEPER says “Our Partners have so much experience running successful sweeping businesses, sharing that experience with other Partners is the cornerstone of our organization and what makes us so successful. We are very proud of the engagement that our Partners have shown through our virtual events over the past year and are excited for November when we can all get back together in person at the Sweeper Summit & Equipment Expo!” All participating Partners will receive a custom Yeti Slim Beverage Cooler as a thank you for their support of the 1-800-SWEEPER brand and making the organization a collective group of industry professionals, second to none! n

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Get Certified With an Emphasis on Construction

By Karen M. Smith

NAPSA’s Sweeper School continues to expand its course offerings with one of the latest focused on construction. No, you’re not asked to swing a hammer or operate a bulldozer. Construction sites generate a lot of debris.

The Certified Sweeper Operator - Construction program instruction is delivered in 18 modules with a nineteenth for the final exam and course feedback and the twentieth for oral examination preparation. Many of the lessons contained with the modules are duplicated in the other CSO and CSM (Certified Sweeping Manager) tracks. The modules are as follows: 1. CSO overview explaining the relationship between power sweeping and construction and a disclaimer.

2. Health issues covering operator nutrition, sleep, and safety.

3. Sweeper basics covering parts of a regenerative air sweeper, how sweepers work, and components of a broom sweeper.

4. Vehicle pre-start going over what needs to be done, checked, or in place before operating the vehicle.

5. Driving the power sweeper, including backing up, safe driving practices, maintenance, emergencies, distractions, and other topics specific to construction sites.

6. Accidents, covering what common problems at construction sites and what to do if you’re in an accident.

7. Paperwork, explaining the prudence and necessity of keeping good records.

8. Sweeper operation, including personal protective equipment, safety, construction site risks, and more.

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Online courses make continuing education and instruction available to anyone, no matter where they’re located.

The final exam is administered in 9. Blowers and blowing tools, describing their uses, techniques, three sections of 20 questions each.

Upon successful completion and starting, fueling, and storage.

10. Environmental issues concerning passing score of the written exam, the certification candidate then proceeds the EPA, dust, silica and other contaminants, and the regulations to an oral test which will then be followed by a module focused on governing their management acknowledgement and gratitude for and/or mitigation. completing the course and focusing 11. Construction site management, on improving the professionalism outlining sweeper operation and standard of excellence within the best practices from arrival to industry. departure.

Certification through NAPSA 12. Troubleshooting, covering confers industry-wide recognition the common equipment that the individual has met or malfunctions encountered at exceeded the industry’s minimum construction sites, including level of knowledge and competence. hydraulics, engine problems, and NAPSA prides itself on maintaining electrical issues. high standards–certification isn’t 13. Dumping, describing when, easy. It means something and is an where, and how to dispose of achievement worthy of pride and debris safely.

14. Washing, because the vehicle and celebration. For the employer, a worker’s certification helps to gain the hopper require maintenance. client loyalty and respect as well as 15. People skills to ensure a high reduce insurance premiums and avoid standard of professionalism. frivolous lawsuits.

16. Airports, because they’re always NAPSA members receive a 75 under construction and you really don’t want to collide with a percent discount ($300) off the course tuition ($400), which makes passenger jet. this certification program cost 17. Ethics, again to ensure a high effective. If your company serves standard of professionalism and construction sites, then you can’t integrity. afford not to have your sweeper 18. “The Main Thing” to cover operators master the industry’s best anything else pertinent to practices. n keeping construction sites tidy.

Today’s Biggest Cybersecurity Threats

By Karen M. Smith

The COVID-19 pandemic did cybersecurity no favors. Security Magazine reports that since the pandemic began, the FBI saw a fourfold increase in cybersecurity complaints and global losses from cybercrime exceeded $1 trillion in 2020. As cybersecurity threats increase in volume, sophistication, and intensity, businesses rightfully fear for the confidentiality and safety of their data in the work-from-home age.

Social Engineering Most workers are not cybersecurity experts, nor should their employers expect them to be. Unfortunately, with employees working from home and accessing corporate files via a hodgepodge of sometimes unsecured devices and network connections, hackers have an unprecedented opportunity to wreak havoc and destruction on an unprecedented scale.

The weakest point in cybersecurity coverage isn’t software or hardware, it’s human nature.Verizon’s 2020 Data Breach Investigations Report states that nearly a third of data breaches incorporated social engineering techniques of which 90 percent were phishing. These attacks manipulate human psychology through phishing emails, scareware, quid pro quo, etc.

Technology giant Cisco reported a spike in phishing attacks--667 percent-and broke them down as of March 17, 2020: “77% were scams, 22% were brand impersonation, and 1% was a [business email compromise].” The use of human psychology is effective with 43 percent of people admitting to making mistakes that compromised cybersecurity. Tessian further states that “88% of data breaches are caused by human error.”

Ransomware Most frequently delivered via phishing email messages, ransomware infects

a device and encrypts files or locks out legitimate access. The hacker then promises to restore access in exchange for payment, usually in cryptocurrency.

Failure to pay, the hacker warns, may result in destruction of the files and/or release of the information to the public.

Yes, that’s blackmail.

“Ransomware is the third most popular type of malware used in data breaches and is employed in 22% of the cases,” writes John Gurinavicuite.

Security Magazine reports the overall sum of ransom demands reaching $1.4 billion in 2020, with an average blackmail demand of $1.45 million.

Polyglot Files A JPG is no longer just a JPG. A polyglot file can and often is legitimate.

The recipient opens the file with an image viewer and it runs like a JavaScript within the recipient’s web browser. Frequently used in advertising fraud, polyglot malware can bypass usual security solutions by being appended to legitimate files, such as a Windows installer file.

Internet of Things The Internet of Things (IoT) enables your cell phone to connect with your coffeemaker to ensure you have fresh, hot coffee when you wake up in the morning. It’s fast becoming a necessity for convenience in every home and workplace. As the interconnectivity of the devices we use increases, so does our vulnerability to malicious code. G Data Software predicts the number of IoT devices will triple to more than 75 billion units by 2025.

Malvertising Malicious advertising in social media runs rampant. Online advertisements are used to distribute malware. The ads, such as fake coupons, are shown on websites which use the advertising network to profit from the ads.

Clicking on the ad then activates a sequence that downloads malware onto the user’s device.

Deepfakes Machine learning and artificial intelligence combine to manipulate an existing image or video portraying something that didn’t actually happen.

“We might witness cybersecurity threats, such as deepfake usage for committing fraud through synthetic identities, and the emergence of deepfake-as-a-service organizations.

2021 might also be the year when deepfakes go on to render more convincing phishing scams than ever before, which could end up costing businesses billions of dollars,” says Security Boulevard.

Protect Your BusinessMost malware depends upon human error and manipulates human psychology to enact the sequence of action enabling it to infect devices and systems and work their evil. Humans are the weak point in any cybersecurity program; however, your business cannot survive without human beings.

Experts advise training your workers to practice data privacy as a discipline, both for the company’s protection and their own. Such training goes beyond distributing pamphlets and uttering exhortations to be careful. It means removing the stigma of mistakes, especially for older employees who fear losing face among their colleagues.

Help employees, especially those working from home, to recognize and avoid hackers’ attempts to violate their privacy and access their data.

Data security in your company may even mean employing trained professionals to monitor and assist with data security and investing in their continuing education to keep them–and your company–up to date on cybersecurity measures. n

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Create Value to Make Your Business Better

By Karen M. Smith

Whether you’re passing your business to the next generation or selling it, the best way to get the best price for your business is to improve its value.

Improving value, also called value creation, takes time, so this effort must begin and be sustained over a period of three to five years before you exit the business.

“The first step in achieving an organization-wide focus on value creation is understanding the sources and drivers of value creation within the industry, company, and marketplace.

Understanding what creates value will help managers focus capital and talent on the most profitable opportunities for growth,” says Laurie Collier Hillstrom, writing for Reference for Business. This means value creation begins with a thorough examination of the company’s finances, culture, products, and services.

Before you can devise targeted strategies to improve the value of your company, you must understand where its revenues come from, where expenses are incurred, the dynamics of your employees, and the demand for the products and/or services the company provides. A comparison against similar companies of like size and business niche may help to determine your current market position.

Once the details have been recorded

and thoroughly understood, it’s time to conduct a SWOT analysis. Analyze the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats facing your business and determine what can be enhanced with the available resources, what can be eliminated to refine your product or service offerings, what you can take advantage of that will put your business ahead of its competitors, and what you can avoid to deter declining market share or catastrophic expenses.

Create Value With all that information swimming in your head, you must decide upon strategies to create new value, create more value, and create better value. No, they’re not the same.

Creating new value refers to building something from scratch, such as offering an entirely new service or product to your existing inventory. This may entail investment in research and development to enter a new market and training personnel to support that new line of business.

Creating more value means to improve what you already have, to make it better. Less resource-intensive than creating new value, this option may involve streamlining processes, revamping client accounts to include automatic billing and renewal, and mitigating waste and other unnecessary expenses.

Creating better value also focuses on what you already have and improving it, generally by increasing quality over quantity.

This option works best with product lines Value creation focuses on growth, not just increasing rather than revenue.

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services.

Value creation addresses two audiences: potential buyers of the business and customers of the business.

Potential buyers want to acquire a business that, if not guarantees, at least has a high probability of generating greater wealth. Factors that go into wealth generation include recurring revenue (e.g., subscription models for revenue), peaking customer demand (i.e., popularity), necessity (i.e., the element of being essential), increased market share (e.g., if the buyer is a rival), and so forth.Value that addresses what customers want and/or need results in their loyalty and continued support.

Another key to value creation is consistency. While no one knocks continuous improvement, customers prize consistency. This requires knowing your market niche and doing business within that niche to a defined standard of excellence. In focusing on what your company does well, it makes sense to stick within a focused line of product or service offerings rather than branch out into something entirely unrelated. Branching out into supporting or related markets can enhance value, but an oil company really isn’t geared toward owning a hotel chain.

More Than Profit Don’t confuse value with revenue. “[M] any companies are inconsistent with putting people first versus revenue first. Unfortunately, if your business puts revenue first, you will find out the hard way that you are struggling to survive,” says Erik Larson, writing for Apruve. The value of your company encompasses more than the money it earns; it includes brand reputation, public goodwill, customer perception, and company culture. Billionaire Richard Branson’s quip about taking care of employees so they’ll take care

of your business makes a good point: employee engagement or the lack thereof can make or break a business.

“The definition of value creation is giving something valuable to receive something else that’s more valuable to you,” says CFO Perspective in its article titled “How Does Value Creation Lead to Business Success?” Shareholders may only care about raising the cost per share, but business owners and managers must expand their focus to consider current and future revenues driven by both mission and profit.

When determining the value of your company, you must consider the service or products it provides as well as your personal aspirations, the primary aim of your business, and the goals that focus your company on achieving that aim.

Where Marketing Comes In When you--the company owner, CEO, or president--have answered those questions of aspirations, business aim, and goals, then you have to convey the value of all that to your employees, your suppliers, your customers, and the public at large. Municipalities that cannot make their voting, taxpaying constituents understand the value of clean streets will lose public support for that service. It’s up to you, the service provider, to explain the value of the service and to justify the cost.

The same holds true regardless of the business: the target audience must find the service or product or the results of using that service or product worth the cost because people care more about how something makes their lives better than about anything else. “Better” may refer to convenience, labor savings, functionality, durability, etc.

The COVID-19 pandemic proved a crucible for companies that provide what people value. Strategy+Business states: [T]he COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the fragility of relationships throughout the ecosystem and the dynamism of change within it.

It’s also amplified and accelerated the connections among financial

productivity, resilience, and society. And it’s accentuated the danger of ignoring any of these parts of the value creation ecosystem. The pandemic has exposed leaders’ blind spots and put many companies on the defensive.

The word pivot featured prominently in articles discussing how companies and schools switched midstream to predominantly online services in a desperate effort to remain profitable and relevant. Dwindling services like DoorDash, GrubHub, and Uber Eats found new life when people became afraid to leave their homes and restaurants closed their dining rooms.

Suddenly, they could offer more than a pricey convenience. Supermarkets and drug stores selling essential products offered personal shopping, carry-out, and delivery services. Web conferencing tried to replace in-person meetings. Marketing proved essential in conveying the relevance and even the necessity of these services, keeping many companies from going out of business.

Value creation isn’t an easy endeavor, but it yields benefits that enable companies, employees, shareholders, and business owners to prosper. Robust, successful value creation strategies and efforts may even postpone the business owner’s exit from the company. n

NAPSA NEWS STAFF President Chris Dick/Katsam Enterprises Executive Director Nancy Terry Editor/Staff Writer Karen M. Smith

ADVERTISING/CONTACT

Please inquire at: North American Power Sweeping Association P.O. Box 1166 Lebanon, OH 45036 (888) 757-0130 info@powersweeping.org www.powersweeping.org/contact/

CIRCULATION

As of February 1, 2017, members of the North American Power Sweeping Association may receive THE HOPPER as a part of their paid membership. THE HOPPER is an official publication of the North American Power Sweeping Association and is published bi-monthly.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to North American Power Sweeping Association, P.O. Box 1166, Lebanon, OH 45036, info@powersweeping.org. © 2021 North American Power Sweeping Association

C O N G R A T U L A T I O N S NAPSA New Members CONTRACTORS: B & E Coating Services, MI – Brad Anderson Chugach Government Solutions, CA – Kevin Terry Kleen Sweep Texas, TX – Angela Browning Nebraska Power Sweeping, NE – Jordan Estee Statewide Construction Sales, OR – Mike Enright

Newly Certified Sweeper Operators CSO PARKING LOT: Joey McEntyre – EcoSweeping, CO Johnnie Rea – Sweep Masters, MS

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P.O. Box 1166 Lebanon, OH 45036

1-800-SWEEPER

More Than A Number! New Partners Recognize The Value 1-800-SWEEPER continues to grow as we welcome 4 new Partners so far in 2021.

Clean Sweep of Orlando in Orlando, FL, Professional Cleaning Company in Rolling Hills, IL, More Clean of Texas in San Antonio and our newest addition, A Clean Sweep in Grand Rapids, MI. “All four companies are welcome additions to the organization”, says Ben Steyer, Executive Director of 1-800-SWEEPER. “These new companies don’t only see the value in the lead generation we provide them but also the power of the buying group”. “Our coop buying group distributed over $161,000 in rebate dollars to

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Partners in 2020! That’s a really exciting accomplishment”. Made up of over 40 vendor partners from truck manufacturers and industry suppliers to business resources and uniforms, 1-800-SWEEPER has created a co-op that benefits all its Partners on some level. Andy Williams, Business Development Rep for the group says “we are always looking for vendors that benefit our Partners. Our discounts on trucks and parts, fuel and tires has worked out nicely for all parties”.

It’s not just the tangibles that create value, it’s the intangibles as well. Mike Kirchner of Clean Sweep of Orlando said “I joined

1-800-SWEEPER to learn from the owners who have been in the industry for years. Since I am relatively new to the industry, I have had good calls with Partners, and they have been kind enough to educate me on different areas of the business”. To capitalize on the intellectual capital of our Partners, a new mentor program is being rolled out soon to the organization, “helping each other grow is what we do”, says Steyer.

The new mentor program is just another tool that is offered as part of membership, reinforcing that 1-800-SWEEPER is “More Than A Number”! For additional details about 1-800-SWEEPER, contact cbell@1800sweeper.com. n