Success only runs one direction....
As an annual event, the National Stationery Show often serves as a bellweather for the entire paper industry moving forward. This year was no exception, as I came away with several thoughts and impressions—many of which bode well for the industry as a whole, provided folks heard those chimes ringing loud and clear. [click here to continue…]
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This has been a different 9/11 for me than in years past. Until a few weeks ago, like most people, it had a dark cloud hanging in the proverbial sky, given the horrors we witnessed nine years ago. During a recent trip to New York, though, one of the meetings I attended was in a building near Ground Zero. Afterward, a fellow attendee and I visited an office on the side that overlooked the construction site…and my entire perspective shifted. [click here to continue…]
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Yup. It’s time. The relative peace and quiet (aka: break from the airports) over the holidays has passed, with the show season and speaking engagements in high gear. I’m headed to the Big Apple for a record-speed-race through the New York International Gift Fair, then jet straight to Louisville, Kentucky, where I’ll be addressing members of the ANLA (American Nursery and Landscape Association). With luck, I’ll squeeze a show report in there along the way, anxious to see how attitudes and show specials play, now that we’re getting down to the end of the winter circuit.
To vendors and reps making their way to New York, heads up. There are a few patterns coming into play that you’ll want to be ready for…and open to, if you get my drift: [click here to continue…]
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Admittedly, this one breaks my heart.
Tavern on the Green isn’t just a beloved gem in New York; to me, it’s the home of many happy memories: attending the National Stationery Show party with Mom the first time we went to market…dinner with dear, wonderful Vicki Hoffstetter who helped me begin my path into industry leadership…co-presenting the inaugural Rep of the Year Award at the REA dinner with Carol Schroeder…flirting with a certain tall, dark, and handsome gentleman in the gift industry who, to this day, has no clue what a crush I had on him…and the night a handful of us danced beneath thousands of twinkling lights on the back terrace, music wafting over from a wedding reception on the neighboring patio. To some, Tavern may be a cliché, but to me, it’s a treasure box. [click here to continue…]
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If you weren’t there, you can’t fully appreciate the living hell Sunday morning brought to the west side of Manhattan. Thanks to an oversight on the part of the local police precinct near the Javits, no one with GLM or the convention center knew about the marathon scheduled to run that morning… [click here to continue…]
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Now that the boxes are loading and the booths are disappearing, how was NYIGF received by buyers and vendors? Well, if you’re to believe the buzz on the floor, pretty good. More or less. Depending on who you talk to and what their goals were. [click here to continue…]
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Just a reminder that I’m doing a seminar about The 3/50 Project in New York this Sunday, during the New York International Gift Fair. Here’s the scoop:
Title: The 3/50 Project: Turning the Tide for Brick and Mortars
Date: Sunday, August 16,2009
Time: 10:00 – 11:00 a.m.
Location: Javits Convention Center, Room 1A02-03 (lower level, south end)
Hosted by: George Little Management, New York International Gift Fair
Open to: NYIGF attendees -and- area business owners*
Admission: Free
RSVP: Click here to respond online
To those of you in the New York area or planning to attend the show, you have big shoes to fill. The crowd in Chicago was standing room only, and wildly enthusiastic. Now, tell me…are you going to let this session slip by quietly?
I think not.
I’ll be sharing ideas for how to promote your business using The 3/50 Project as the centerpiece, so bring the other business owners in your neighborhood along, then head out for a brainstorming lunch afterward. As one Chicago attendee, Cindy Crawford (owner, Saraboo Creek) put it:
“I enjoyed your presentation and came away from the weekend re-charged and ready to take on what remains of this recession.”
* If you’re interested in walking the gift show but don’t have a badge, please visit nyigf.com for qualification requirements. Apply for your badge ahead of the show for free or apply on site for $50.00.
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It’s official (as of about 45 seconds ago…how’s that for “hot off the presses?”)-—I’ll be doing a seminar about The 3/50 Project in New York this summer, during the New York International Gift Fair. Here’s the scoop: [click here to continue…]
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