It's about our people.

For our franchisees, concern and focus should be on how they can better serve their clients. Once a year we hold a special conference to address this - improvement across the horizon of activities that touch the end user. We delve into how they can offer top grade service and relevant products to answer a question or remedy a need. For us, the concern is our customer, the franchisee. Backing their efforts with training and guidance, new developments and ideas - this is our calling. The past week in Las Vegas saw the best of both shine brightly. It was our franchisees in search of the information and motivation to succeed and our efforts to deliver such.

I had a good feeling about this year's conference, I thought the increased attendance our team had mustered for the event would make a big difference. It would show the suppliers at the trade show that United Franchise Group franchisees are a powerful arm they can use to market and sell their products. From what I saw and heard regarding our suppliers, this was achieved all day Monday and Tuesday. The increased participation in events we hold solidifies the belief that you're never to far down the path to learn and grow. Franchisees of all tenure levels came to Rio Hotel and dove into the supplier trade show, breakout sessions, and plenty of side meetings for their respective brands. I met with friends from years ago and newer members of our group fresh from training school. Each of them came with their own separate needs and reasons for attending. But for us, for me, the event was all about being with the people we support. Knowing first-hand what their ideas are, where their struggles lie, and determining how we can assist. The various means we have to communicate with the franchisees cannot replace seeing them in person and engaging over a meal or simply a walk down a very long corridor. (Of which there were many!)  I enjoy being a part of what we have built - a network of successful business professionals, each taking a piece of our formula home to launch their franchise. This was a great week!

For those franchisees that couldn't attend, you are now tasked with paying twice as much attention to the communication channels we offer. There will be follow up information sent out regarding new programs and developments introduced at Expo. Suppliers will make good on show specials, sometimes for a limited time after the show. Commit to bringing yourself and your staff to our next event, it is worth the time you spend away from your business. It is worth the money you invest to put yourself in a different place, physically and figuratively, to look at your operation from the outside. The things we can do to support your business are many. Help that cause by being there to accept our very best advice, new findings, corrective action, and enthusiasm. You know we enjoy putting the World Expo event together - it's done on your behalf. A show so large it rivals industry-wide events in the categories in which our franchisees operate. Be a part of it. Because it's about you.

Loving the prep!

Put all this together and make me an Expo, Dave.World Expo time is here - so not a moment is unaccounted for in the office. And now some big chunks of my preparation are happening at home, too. We're baking videos, collecting and making music slices for Awards night, organizing Mentor roundtable meetings, getting set for a few guest appearances for new brands and their panel of experts... it's a vibrant mood. I have a main stage keynote style speech on Wednesday morning, a similar "tech specifics" update for EmbroidMe on Tuesday afternoon, and a nice piece I've found on the Internet to share with our Mentor Group Sunday afternoon to start the show. I'm making props for the opening session of Expo, arranging for a wonderful dinner out with the USA Mentor Chairpersons, which I hope goes as well as the one we did for the Aussie group while in Melbourne. This is really what I know well, getting things organized for the big event. I see event planning as a chess-type exercise. I'm trying to figure out what the attendees will like, what their mood will be, and how to send key points home in their memories. Everyone in our office is somehow involved. Some directly with things like signmaking, scheduling, calling franchisees to boost attendance, working with suppliers for the gi-normous trade show or logistics for our team once we hit Las Vegas. It is for me, the last piece of how we work together teamwise like we used to. I keep saying it to people at work, but only few understand. This effort, this working together, is what was normal with most projects. Now that we've grown, we're big. We have departments. We have layers. We have reports and we have more rules. Bring me back to where we once were, when success was based on all of our abilities combined. We do that now, but it's fragmented by brands and departments, likes and dislikes. I look forward to Expo because the winning formula we employ - direct interaction and teamwork isn't out of style. For our newbies, it's sometimes out of sight. Maybe this Expo will show them more of what I've been saying. It's tough, it's demanding work, but it definitely delivers dividends to franchisees and our company. Could there a better reason to prepare so earnestly?

Post PC?

(Ours didn't have a mouse, either!)This is what it's come to? As industry experts and pundits from both sides lob their best material at each other, we now are on the verge of arguing if the PC is to be replaced by the tablet, slate, ultra thin notebook or smartphone.

Guess what? We're already past it. Sales for non-PC computing devices already have eclipsed traditional desktop sales. Ask yourself, what device are you looking forward to using - personally and "on the job" with your customers? It's probably not a PC, unless you require the gaming or graphics engine of a workhorse machine. For most of us, it has come down to the least common denominator. We need Internet connectivity. We need email. We want social tools. We like online gaming, music, and entertainment. Most of this is smartphone ready, and all of it comes as part of tablet or ultra slim laptop ownership. That's where you're heading.

To know that we started SIGNARAMA with WYSE 2208 80286 machines, green or amber monochrome monitors and optional 287 math co-processor chips (Installed by yours truly) is amazing. Now our franchisees operate independent of their store's four walls, conducting business with anytime access to customers, projects, schedules, suppliers, accounting and reporting and social media to tell the story! The PC or Mac back at the retail location churns the designs and still has a purpose. But where we are heading is more exciting than where we've been. Promise.

Twenty/ten

Most of us do not get the opportunity to fly right above our hometown and look down at our house, our car and our neighborhood from above. (Unless you're a pilot or a base jumper!) Such is also true about having a rare few days or weeks of mental clarity that allows you to "see" the things in your life that are important. To see the size and position of your assets and holdings and what surrounds you at any given point in your life. These times of clarity can come as a result of a significant change in one's situation - a celebratory or tragic event that is way larger than your normal sensory input. Graduate from college and you now see the world before you with different eyes - because so much is within reach. Travel far away and do things you're not accustomed to, and your next few days back home seem unique. For me, the most recent occurance is the loss of my sister to cancer. A prolonged battle ending in a peaceful night's sleep passing away, I am in the middle of a sharpened and more focused period of vision and awareness.

Bills and financial concerns take a back seat, those are solvable. Disagreements with individuals? Grudges melt in these times. I have time and a set of thoughts that can push me into a special place where I am free of daily distractions and able to have the naive view of the future similar to that of a youngster. It's a place where optimism is high, where your possibilities form a long list, and where hurdles are low and insignificant. Fear of trying new things erodes as the upside of experiencing something off-beat outweighs the risk. I reflect to something I've heard and read, "What would you try if you knew you couldn't fail?" You shouldn't have to lose a loved family member to surround yourself with this acute set of feelings, but maybe that's their legacy or parting gift to you. I am fortunate to have had a very positive and loving relationship with my sister at all times, I truly enjoyed her guidance, sense of enjoyment and support. I often tell others that this milestone represents to me the loss of my best "biased" supporter. Whatever I have been involved with, triumph or hard times, she has been that person who would tell me, "Oh, you'll do great at this, you're going to enjoy that or I'll see you coming through this magnificently!" You don't get many of these people in your life, and none of us can readily afford to lose them. In this time of sadness and reflection, good can come in the form of the clarity I can see things with as I grow forward. I have to make something of this "gift," it's too valuable to let it pass by unused.

Appreciate those in your life that support you. Have empathy towards those that appear as if they chide you, their path may be bumpier than yours. Look for the precious times where your awareness is peaking and you can see things unlike other days. Some great things are in these moments if you can pull them out and apply them in your day-to-day. For some, it's the beach, it's a walk in the woods, a religious service or sermon, yoga, or time spent alone reading. Recognize what gives you that 20/10 vision and be ready to learn from it. Most people won't have many exposures to this much clarity, they are highly valuable to those of us that are prepared to accept them.

Expo Intangibles

It's coming in less than two months, the big support event we sponsor for our franchisees. World Expo 2012 is set to fire off April 15-19th in Las Vegas at the Rio All Suites Hotel and Casino. It's a big deal around here, we work for months leading up to the conference to make sure we are delivering what our attendees need. It is an educational experience sharply pointed in the direction our franchisees should be heading. It is suppliers, products, special deals, samples and demonstrations from big names and innovative newcomers that look to have their goodies represented in your business. It is peer-generated excitement, the sharing and learning that comes with close quarters contact over the four day event. It is worth your time and money to attend.

Traditionally we tout the reasons above as why you should attend the event. True, they have merits. But if you've been to the Expo before, you may think, "I know about the new products, thanks Internet, I don't need new equipment, mine works, and I just can't afford it, time or money-wise this year." If these thoughts or similar have been in your head, I need to have your attention for 3 minutes. That's all it would take to discover what things an Expo brings to you that you don't see coming, won't see on the brochure, and probably need in your business. Here's my take on Expo Intangibles...

• Confidence - You will come home more confident about what's possible in your business. That will happen in breakout sessions when you give time to learn what's new and working for others, as provided by franchisees and suppliers. This is not industry-wide knowledge, it's relevant tips and ideas that work - especially for you from those who share your brand. 
• Energy - In all my past dealings with franchisees, I have NEVER spoken with anyone that came back from Expo and didn't have a new "fire" under their shorts to get into the things they found at our event. It could be marketing and sales ideas, technology advances, operational things, new ways to organize, new gadgets to buy. It always happens, you come home ready to move a bit quicker. You need that!
• Grounding - Knowing the truth can help you focus on what's possible. It's great to set goals and strive and reach, but you'll dissappoint yourself if you set unreasonable and unattainable goals. Come see what is happening among the others that are breaking records. How many employees did she have? What type of promotion worked best? Stop kidding yourself, the collective knowledge at Expo feeds your growth with the truth. Come see the facts as provided by your peers. Then return home and chase your records.
• Friends - You have some from Training School, you know other local franchisees from meetings in your area, make a trip to feel good about those that you know and enjoy being around. Eat drink and see Las Vegas. You work hard, when do you reward yourself and make memories about your business that aren't 100% business related? Expo time!
• Dream - If there's one thing I like doing that always motivates me, it's seeing the best of the best perform. How do they do it? Are they different from me? I watch, I listen and I learn. Attend the Awards events and see just how far people have taken the same concept you practice each week in your community. Know that they started just like you, probably not an industry expert, fresh out of training school and green. Many of our superstars came to an Expo early on in their careers and said, "That's going to be me." And it is today. Start your dream at Rio.

We want as many people as possible to join in the Expo experience. The theme is Reconnect, Refocus and Revitalize. That's what Expo can do for your business! We have discounts on airfares this year, that's helpful. We have a great hotel serving as the base of the event. If you would consider going to one event to help your business over the course of a calendar year, why not attend the one that's custom made for you? Make a move that will springboard your 2012 plans into high gear. Register for the World Expo today.   Expo Website.