EPreward
Spring Newsletter April 2013

Spring is Blooming…
and so are the Number of Used Devices
We Can Purchase!

 

Hello Good Customers and Friends,

Our ability to buy your whole used catheters grew 25% for the 2nd quarter.  This along with our new “Ablation Awards Program” will allow you to earn more money for your used devices.  Read on to earn more and


Click Here for the New Product List and Pricing.

 

  Ablation Rewards Program

Don't forget the Ablation Rewards Program we introduced last month. You can earn 77% to 500% more money on many ablation catheters when you simply include the packaging label in the bag with the catheter.
Contact Bill or Andrea for further information at Andrea - andrea@epreward.com
Bill - bill@epreward.com
        1-877-663-8686

 

 



Educational Newsletter: 

Read the interview with EPreward founder and CEO, Steve Miller, who won the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) South Florida Small Business Person of the Year Award for 2013.   Many of the ideas used to grow EPreward can be applied to your EP Lab for the same positive effects.   

Update: This past winter brought wonderful changes to EPreward.  In December, we moved into our new building, with a larger warehouse and more office space which have enabled us to expand to meet the needs of our customers. Also, last week a stray puppy wandered through our open front office door.  Now we are proud to announce that "Hudson" is the newest addition to our team.   

                                                                                        
Thank you for allowing us to assist your department. 
Have
a great Spring and we look forward to working with you.

 

 

All of us at EPreward

 




Steve Miller Wins SBA South Florida

Small Business Person of the Year Award for 2013 

 




Recently, Steve’s employees nominated him for the South Florida District SBA Small Business Person of the Year, and he won!  Below, please find out all about Steve and what makes him so successful in business.  There are lessons for all of us.  The article was written by Jim Brooks, Public Affairs Officer, U.S. Small Business Administration after an interview he had with Steve.


   

Simply put, Steve Miller likes to tinker.               

                                                                                                                                             

 

Once Steve gets an idea in his head, he’s not letting it go until after he’s studied it closely, taken it apart, reassembled the pieces, and see if he can’t make it perform better.  He’s not afraid of getting a little dirt under his fingernails in the process.  The Boynton Beach, Fla., registered nurse created his own small business success in his spare time simply by chasing his ideas.  (Pearl:  Be determined and patient with your long range personal and professional goals.  Sometimes it will take years to reach goals of significance. A mentality of being rewarded in the present time by the process and delaying gratification for material gains to the future will serve you well.)  
  
 

 

                   “When I started in nursing, more than one of the other nurses told me that I wasn’t the sharpest knife in the drawer because I couldn’t remember step-by-step procedures and had to write them down on three-by-five cards.” said Miller.  “So instead of letting their negative remarks get to me, I started to view myself as a really good spoon and not a knife.  I realized I needed to find a role where spoon qualities were essential because I considered myself the best there was.”    (Pearl:  Use honest introspection and the feedback of others to evaluate who you are in terms of your abilities.  For example, if you are not good at math, desiring to be a CRNA will not fit because CRNA’s perform dozens of drug calculations each day.  If you have excellent listening skills and are compassionate, working where communicating with patients and families will be ideal.)     


     Miller’s first foray into the business world was establishing a 16-page Colorado health resources magazine that combined both holistic and mainstream medical resources.  He talked to magazine publishers and did the research.  A publication like that just didn’t exist before and Miller saw a need for people to be aware of all options in order to make better health decisions


                   “I started the business in my spare time.  I didn’t make much money and I eventually sold the magazine.” said Miller. 
 
 

                   Working as a registered nurse paid the bills until one day when one of his businesses ideas would take off.  After leaving the hospital at the end of the day, is when Miller truly went to work.  Needless to say, days were divided by work and sleep but Steve didn’t see it that way.  (Pearl:  If you are looking at another profession or going back to school, don't quit your "day job" until the new endeavor is financially viable.  Hospitals are excellent for working part time and per diem.)  

 
 

                   “I was doing something I enjoyed.  So working an 80 to 100 hour week did not seem like it was work.  Anyone who is considering opening their own business should pursue something they have a passion for because then you won’t notice those long hours,” said Miller.  (Pearl:  Find a positioning healthcare or a business that gets you excited.  Something you would go to do every day even if you weren't getting paid.) 


Following his own passion for the sea and sailing led Miller to open his own south Florida charter sailing business in south Florida.  For someone raised in Boulder, Colorado, this was truly someone not afraid to chase a dream.  He learned to sail, bought a sailboat and after a few years was running family and couple charters to the Bahamas. 

 

                   Many entrepreneurs imagine turning a personal passion into a personal business.  Like the Chinese proverb that professes:  “Find a job you love and you'll never work a day in your life,” Miller was living through that principle.  But his passion didn’t blindfold him from one important reality:   he wasn’t making much money.  With the realization of the cold, hard facts before him, Miller made a very difficult decision.  He gave up his charter business and went back to nursing full time.  

 

                   “Sailing around the Caribbean was a great experience for me.  You’re a part of a special community where everyone comes together when someone else is in need.  You fix things on your own and if you don’t know how to do something, there is someone else who is willing to help and show you how to do it.”  (Pearl:  Be a part of and encourage your co-workers to always assist, support and elevate each other.  This creates an atmosphere of helping and caring that automatically extends itself to the patients and families you work with.  They will feel this atmosphere and know they will be cared for before you speak a word to them.) 

 

                   It wasn’t long after he was back to working full time as a nurse when Miller came upon a business idea that was the inspiration for his next company.  Having worked at dozens of hospitals in several states over a few decades, Miller turned his attention toward medical waste and how hospitals recycled the precious metals from used cardiovascular devices.  

                   “Being the seat-of-the-pants type of guy I am, I wanted to figure out how the cardiology recycling process worked.  The various companies involved with recycling provided poor service and I thought that I could do better.” 

                    Admittedly, Miller tried some “do-it-yourself” home recycling projects to understand the complexity of the process.  But that was just the type of thing you’d expect from someone who likes to tinker.

  

                   Miller also received some sage advice and direction from a no-cost business mentor program through south Florida’s SCORE network.  “Herb Douglas was my business mentor and his guidance and input was crucial,” said Miller.  “Small business capital was not my concern as working out of the home minimized costs, but I don’t think I would be where I am now without Herb’s mentorship and input from the other great staff at SCORE.”   (Pearl:  If there is not an established mentor program where you work, find your own mentor.  Ask a person who you respect if they will work with you as a mentor.  Just a talk over lunch once a week can allow you to learn from someone who can shed light into your world and help you see more clearly the wiser paths to choose.  On the reverse side, make yourself available to mentor someone less experienced than you.) 

 

                   “The most rewarding part of my business is having employees who are successful.  I can leave the office and do other things and I know my employees are collaborating and being productive.  I see one of my main roles as a business owner, is to provide them with everything they need to do their job as best as they can.  We also have a profit sharing program where everyone benefits from business success, and our least paid employee makes over 2  1/2 times the minimum wage.” said Miller (Pearl: As a manager, does your staff have everything they need to do a good job?  Material, educational, psychological, etc?  Ask them, what they need in order to do a better job, then listen and act.) 
  
 

                   Building a successful small business seems only natural for a person who likes to disassemble and reassemble components to work a certain way.  Miller thinks all small business owners are problem solvers of sorts but not everyone can do it.  He says his employees are the foundation of his success and picking the right ones is as important as selecting the right parts to build an efficient machine. 

 

                   “When we hire a new employee, we look at it more as an adoption into our work family.” said Miller.  “I’m not looking for the best or most experienced person.  Like Ted Turner looking for crew on his America's Cup sailboats, I’m looking for someone who can work well with others, who wants to learn and sees this job as a challenge to rise up to.  You can’t teach people to get along well with others, they either have that characteristic or not at this age, but you can teach them how to do specific tasks and their own motivation will move them beyond those functions to excel as an individual and a group.”   (Pearl:  Incorporate this philosophy into your hiring strategy.  It will bring you people who are easier to train and later on a pleasure to manage... and make you look better in the long run.) 
  
 

                   Miller’s nursing background, entrepreneurial spirit and willingness to tinker has led him to develop two medical devices that he has patented and is awaiting on FDA approval.  And unlike television warnings not to try something at home, it shouldn’t be a surprise that Miller tested them on himself.  He is also expanding EPreward into an unused medical product redistribution business to include unused materials that are nearing their shelf expiration date.  (Pearl:  If you a problem in the department, with a procedure or process, don't limit your thinking to the failure of acceptance.  You can have a greater influence than you think.  Find solutions to problems and work with your manager and staff to have them implemented.  Finding solutions to problems makes you a very valuable asset to the department.) 

 

                   “Everything I learned from school, hobbies, sports, previous jobs and life experiences I consider as being a ‘tool’ for my next project.” said Miller.  “People may reject a job or a task because they don’t see the way it will fit it to their plans.  But you should take those opportunities when they come because they are a chance to add a tool to your personal tool belt.  There will be a time down the road when that skill will be necessary.  A person with a lot of passion but limited tools won’t succeed.”  (Pearl: Bring your past experiences with you to your current job.  Use and build upon the tools of experience and take them with you to your next workplace.   For managers, be open to new ideas and ways to do things as your employees have had a wider range of experiences than any single person.  Employees, don't hold back when you have a better way to do something.  Bring it up in a respectful manner and add your ideas to those of your workmates. Together, great things are possible.) 
 
 
 

We work hard to earn your business every day and never take it for granted!

Steve Miller and the Staff and EPreward  

 

EPreward
Check out our new website www.epreward.com
1-877-663-8686
contact@epreward.com