About Joe
Joe Nussbaum has been involved in small business his entire life. First growing up as a teenage helper in his parent's moving business. Then founding a manufacturing business in 1986, ACP International, which Joe still operates today. In 2022, Joe converted ACP into a 100% Employee-owned company, with plans to exit ACP after several years of transition. Part of Joe's plans are to offer advice, consulting, and experience to others who want to start businesses of their own, or better learn how to manage in their current positions. See below in Joe's own words what he'd like to accomplish with Visit With Joe.
I am a very fortunate person. I have been blessed with business success that has freed me from having to work. However, I enjoy work, and I get great joy out of seeing my employees do well. I also get great satisfaction out of helping others achieve their goals and dreams. It is a pleasure visiting with others about business, so I hope my consulting business is a winning situation for everyone. Visit With Joe is a part-time business for me now, and hopefully will morph into a semi-retirement job when I'm done with ACP.
Let me tell you where my experience has been, what I think are some important core values of business, and how I can help you:
• I started a business from scratch in 1986. I did it without incurring any debt. It was an incredibly modest beginning. Check out my blog titled "How I started my Business" for specifics. I can help you if you just want to talk about a business idea, or I can assist you with the steps to get started in business.
• The company I founded is a manufacturing business. One of the keys to business success is to be able to multiply the product or service you are offering, so you can realize profits on more than just your singular effort. If we talk about a business idea, I will probably lead you into a discussion of evaluating how exactly you will make money, and what's involved with selling and delivering your product or service.
• Through the years, I have bought several businesses and added them to ACP. In a couple of instances, I have run them independently. I've had success and failure doing this. If you are thinking of buying a business, I can help you think it through and evaluate the options with you.
• I'm pretty good at creating bonus and incentive programs for employees. The most important thing you can do in this regard is create situations where everyone is pulling in the same direction. That is easier said than done, but you need to move in that direction constantly. I can help you with practical and theoretical thoughts on bonus and incentive programs.
• Our company owns its own real estate. In general, I'm a believer in that. I'm also a believer in owning equipment rather than leasing it. There are certain exceptions, but as a general rule, I'm a believer in owning.
• Win-Win is an overused term for sure, but it really is an important core value. It is not satisfactory being in a business where the only way you win is because someone else loses. Conducting business needs to be fair and good for Employees, Owners, Customers, and Vendors. This is hard to balance perfectly, but it should be the ultimate goal.
• Through the years, I have tended to be a do-it-yourselfer when it comes to accounting, HR, legal, and government regulatory work. We use professionals, but sparingly. Occasionally this has been a mistake, but for the most part it has been the wise thing to do. I can help you here, not by being an accountant or lawyer, but by helping you get to a certain level of understanding before you consult a high-priced professional.
• I have not had experience in franchises, and I've not had experiences in Business to Consumer. Almost all of my experience has been Business to Business. I can still help you, but I want you to know where my experience is coming from.
• As your business grows, you and your employees have to grow with it. I started my business working alone. At the 35 year mark, we had over 60 employees. I had to grow from being a self-starting worker to a first level manager, then to a boss of managers. All of these levels require different skills, and there are growing pains. I can help you navigate these waters.
• With Visit With Joe, my plan is to offer a very simple consulting business that makes a modest amount of money in two ways. The most obvious is the paid consulting people can purchase online. That is how I plan to make a little income. The second way is to have a free and open sharing of information through the blog and website, with hopes that people will see value in it, and respond with a Pay-It-Forward contribution of their choosing. I'm hoping that these contributions will pay for website and marketing costs, so I can keep my consulting fees low.
Finally, my hope is that you find great success and accomplishment, and that I can help you get there in some way. Ultimately, I hope that you outgrow Visit With Joe. Nothing would please me more.
Let's Talk Business,
Joe Nussbaum