Merry learned an important lesson from his experience, one that every business owner and aspiring business owner should take to heart: Yesterday's success doesn't guarantee tomorrow's. Business owners must be prepared to change, as their markets change even when that means making tough emotional decisions.
Growing up in an entrepreneurial family, Merry got the entrepreneurial bug early. "No doubt about it, even from a very young age I looked at different ways to make money, and I always saw myself in the position of an owner and creator," he says.
After college, however, Merry chose not to go to work for Herndon & Merry. Like most young people, he says, he wanted to make it on his own. He admits that the prospect of spending all his time with family members was not particularly appealing, and he had reservations about how "professionally" the business was being run.
"I had gone to college, and I thought I needed to be in the world of big business," Merry says. He got a job with a big steel warehousing firm that supplied raw materials to companies just like Herndon & Merry. He found being on the supply side of the business a very useful experience.
"I saw a lot of different management styles there, since it was a big company," he says. "I got to see some good selling techniques, and I learned a lot about how a corporation works. I was able to draw on those things when I came to my current position."
Merry also got married and started a family during that period, an experience that has also been useful to him as a manager. "It has helped me learn about patience and about people," he says. Merry has come to accept the fact that "people aren't perfect, as much as we might want them to be sometimes." That has helped him learn to delegate and to make more realistic assessments about what is and is not acceptable.
Learning to delegate and to make more realistic assessments is important in business
As Merry discovered, acquiring business and management skills is a lifetime proposition. What you learn today from many different sources can prove to be useful later.
By the beginning of the 1990's, Herndon & Merry was struggling, a victim of recession and an obsolescent product line. The Merry family was looking to bring some managerial experience into the firm, and at the same time, Bill Merry, Jr. was about ready for a change. The chance to help engineer a turnaround at Herndon & Merry and give something back to his family had a lot of appeal to Merry.
With Bill Merry, Jr., now at the helm, the company made the hard decision to Abandon. its roots in carports metal sheds and other small projects and focus all its resources on driveway gates and more ambitious ornamental and architectural metalwork.
More attention was also given to Garden Park Antiques, a related business venture started by Merry's brother Keith that deals in architectural and ironwork antiques, decorative pieces and furniture. The synergy between the two businesses is strong, since both target the same upper-income market of high-end residential homeowners.
Growing up in an entrepreneurial family, Merry got the entrepreneurial bug early. "No doubt about it, even from a very young age I looked at different ways to make money, and I always saw myself in the position of an owner and creator," he says.
After college, however, Merry chose not to go to work for Herndon & Merry. Like most young people, he says, he wanted to make it on his own. He admits that the prospect of spending all his time with family members was not particularly appealing, and he had reservations about how "professionally" the business was being run.
"I had gone to college, and I thought I needed to be in the world of big business," Merry says. He got a job with a big steel warehousing firm that supplied raw materials to companies just like Herndon & Merry. He found being on the supply side of the business a very useful experience.
"I saw a lot of different management styles there, since it was a big company," he says. "I got to see some good selling techniques, and I learned a lot about how a corporation works. I was able to draw on those things when I came to my current position."
Merry also got married and started a family during that period, an experience that has also been useful to him as a manager. "It has helped me learn about patience and about people," he says. Merry has come to accept the fact that "people aren't perfect, as much as we might want them to be sometimes." That has helped him learn to delegate and to make more realistic assessments about what is and is not acceptable.
Learning to delegate and to make more realistic assessments is important in business
As Merry discovered, acquiring business and management skills is a lifetime proposition. What you learn today from many different sources can prove to be useful later.
By the beginning of the 1990's, Herndon & Merry was struggling, a victim of recession and an obsolescent product line. The Merry family was looking to bring some managerial experience into the firm, and at the same time, Bill Merry, Jr. was about ready for a change. The chance to help engineer a turnaround at Herndon & Merry and give something back to his family had a lot of appeal to Merry.
With Bill Merry, Jr., now at the helm, the company made the hard decision to Abandon. its roots in carports metal sheds and other small projects and focus all its resources on driveway gates and more ambitious ornamental and architectural metalwork.
More attention was also given to Garden Park Antiques, a related business venture started by Merry's brother Keith that deals in architectural and ironwork antiques, decorative pieces and furniture. The synergy between the two businesses is strong, since both target the same upper-income market of high-end residential homeowners.
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