My partner and I have owned and operated Sandlot Sports in Michigan for nearly 8 years. We have been extraordinarily fortunate to run a successful decoration business while learning the industry as we go. We‚’ve upgraded facilities, printing equipment, embroidery equipment, software, and even personnel all with the goal of becoming an efficient and respected company in our community. After seeing a spike in our embroidery business in 2015 and also a spike in our turnaround times, we felt like we could no longer manage our embroidery department to fit the standards that were working in our other departments. It was time for help. We asked around and were given the name Joyce Jagger by multiple industry people.
Being a growing company, cost is always a concern and there is a cost to inviting Joyce into your facility. You can look at the monetary value and shy away or you can look at the investment and expect that you will be a better company when she leaves. She‚’s an investment. Our embroidery staff had been together for nearly 10 years. Our main embroiderer had been stitching for 20 years. Joyce pin pointed efficiency issues in her first 5 minutes that only an experienced embroiderer with years of expertise could see. Her no excuses, no nonsense was refreshing. We were getting by with good work but she pointed to the areas that we can do better in and gave us the steps to get there. She retrained our staff in areas that they falsely felt were their strengths over the years. Each excuse or complaint was matched with years of experience correcting behavior. It turns out that the embroidery company we acquired, and assumed knew the business, had been mostly self-taught and never updated their techniques.
After the first day, the defensive behavior stopped and the learning began. Joyce peppered our staff with Ah-Ha moment after Ah-Ha moment. Her techniques and advice filled each embroiderer with confidence to get better at their craft. She taught them that you have a responsibility to yourself to be educated and not to accept embroidery that is just “good.” She expressed to the staff about the business of embroidery and getting jobs in, and more importantly, out efficiently for the sake of professionalism. It was a change of style from our one-time “mom and pop” shop.
Joyce‚’s training was the most focused training that our company has ever seen and I would be embarrassed if we couldn‚’t earn a return on our investment in the next 6 months. As an owner, that‚’s what it‚’s all about. She knows the business and what it takes to actively excel in embroidered decoration. Since she‚’s left we‚’ve received our first follow up lesson to keep us engaged in the changes she worked so hard to implement with more to follow.
If you have an opportunity to meet with Joyce Jagger, I would recommend that you hire her for your shop. She listens to staff, works hard with them, and engages with them on a personal and professional level to get the best out of them in the short time she is there. She understands the value of company time and explores ways to get the best production time out of your staff, which will help your department and company grow by leaps and bounds.
Adam McCauley
Co-Owner, Sandlot Sports LLC
www.sandlotsports301.com