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The company I am employed by, MulchPlus of Ohio, Inc, has had an interesting journey over the last couple months. I think it's fair to say we were in survival mode when I started on April 28. Gradually over the next several weeks our conversations started gravitating to a more deliberate approach toward our market share. We entertained many, many marketing and operational approaches. Once our busy spring/summer mulch season relaxed we even became somewhat more intentional in our exposure. First we printed new business cards in an attempt to capture brand equity. Secondly, we entered a relationship with our local print media to create 'Top of Mind Awareness' of MulchPlus. Thirdly, we became deliberate in our direct marketing approach of calling on potential customers. And somewhere in the middle of all that we found ourselves praying, seeking and asking for guidance and wisdom in our business model. Psalm 99:6b-7a says
They called upon the Lord and He answered them. He spoke to them in the pillar of cloud. We called and He answered, but He spoke to us in the wind.
One average day Jesse and I are in the office doing what we do when a man walks in. This happens regularly, so we thought nothing of it. This man introduces himself as the owner of a pallet factory in Springfield, Ohio. Pallet factory's tend to produce a substantial amount of 'broken's', pieces and generally unusable pallets. We in the mulch industry refer to such material as post-consumer waste. This kiln-dried material holds color enhancers quite well and is a premium feed stock. Incidently, I had been pursuing relationship with another pallet production facility in an attempt to secure just the material supply that this man has available. We three talk for a while and decide that someday either Jesse, or I, or both, would travel to Springfield to see his facility and his supply. John explains that we could have the finished material if we were willing to grind it and get it out of his way. He suspected that there was 6,000 yards of finished material. Pallet company #1 desires to sell me their material. Pallet company #2 says, 'its yours if you grind it'. Hmmm.
Curtain drops. Next scene.
On another average day at the office I was going about my routine tasks when an average looking man with jeans, polo and a bill cap walks in. He introduces himself as being the job supervisor from a clearing company from 'down south'. He explains that his company is clearing a 42 mile stretch across our county for a natural gas pipeline and they need a place to dispose of the ground material. Would we be interested? 'Sure', I say, 'we're always keeping our eyes open for supply'. He says, 'good, there will be approximately 120,000 yards of 'first grind''. 120,000 yards? Did I spill my coffee? No, but only because I wasn't holding a cup.
120,000 yards??? (Typically we sell 20,000 yards +/- annually.) We just hit payload! It's ours for the having. Yet, in spite of all this, we still aren't seeing the 'big' picture. First, we haven't seen any connection between Springfield and this clearing contractor (which there isn't, only that both are clear answers to prayers we almost forgot we prayed). Secondly, we had been fretting that we would not have paying work for our labor force over our 'down' season, and now it drops in our lap. 120,000 yards worth.
And then the wind blew. Softly at first, but it it blew, nonetheless.
Sometime after all the 'happenstance' of two men approaching us I contacted a playground mulch distributor in PA about becoming a local manufacturer. Almost immediately after that contact MulchPlus was approached by a local playground mulch distributor regarding us manufacturing for them. Now we have two playground mulch distributors seriously considering us as their local manufacturer.
Also, as an outlet for our 6,000 +/- yards in Springfield, we contacted the largest bag mulch manufacturer/distributor in Ohio and they expressed interest in our feedstock in Springfield. All of it. How soon can they pick it up?
And then the wind blew. Hard. Hurricane Ike, to be exact. Ike blew all the way up to and through the Miami Valley. Trees down, limbs down, brush everywhere.
Monday morning caught us by surprise. We knew we'd be busy as people brought us their brush from the weekend storm, but never did we imagine the storm that would continue to blow all week. First the City of Middletown contacted us wanting to coordinate for the residents of Middletown to dump brush in our yard at their expense. Next Liberty Township called and in a 20 minute tele-conference we coordinated a similar arrangement with them. Then we contacted the city of Monroe and a third arrangement was made with that municipality.
Suddenly we realized that our advertisement dilemma was solving itself. We cried out to the Lord (about advertising exposure) and He answered in the wind. Immediately every resident in Butler County knows the name and location of MulchPlus of Ohio, Inc. and we didn't have to spend a dime to accomplish it. Rather, the local cities, townships and the county officials themself were promoting our establishment, AND paying us to do it. Not only were they paying us, but they were also taking responsiblilty to contact the local television, radio and print media on our behalf. Income, advertisement and raw stock supply issues all resolved simultaneously. And He answered in the wind.
Then as we put our heads together we realized that we, as a company, needed to pursue beyond our immediate locale and make ourselves available to various other jurisdictions for assistance in their clean-up efforts. Suffice it to say I've talked to mayors, city managers, public works directors, county solid waste managers, commissioners, street department supervisors and more. In a matter of a week I've been in court houses, city buildings, high rise offices and county offices. Each time as the secretary started to head me off I would introduce myself and my service and invariably someone would emerge from a back office and within a matter of minutes I'd be sitting face to face with a high goverment official at whatever level I was approaching. Impossible, unless the Lord's wind blows.
Then one day, mid-week, as I was sharing this with a brother the song,
Don't Let Me Miss The Glory by Gordon Mote started playing and it hit me. I was recounting it all from a natural, can-you-believe-it mindset and I was missing the Lord's glory in it altogether. Not anymore.
We called upon the Lord and He answered us. He spoke to us in the wind. Don't let me miss Your glory, Lord!
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