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Minutes Matter

Are You Open to Change?

Open minded people are usually optimistic people - you know the people that see the glass as half full instead of half empty. People that are open to change move their business up the ladder faster than closed mined people. Open minded people take chances; close minded people would rather keep doing what is familiar and comfortable. In other words they want to live in a box.

Many of you will be attending a conference this year; you will take some classes, add new vendors to your contact list and find some new products. Even if you have been in business for 20 years there is always something new to learn. Whether you are a Designer or Window Treatment Professional, I believe attending conferences is part of your continuing education. If you haven't attended a conference lately, think about attending one this year and see what you're missing.

After you have attended, be sure when you get back to your office you take some time to implement many of the things you learned. When I would return from a conference, my employees would always ask "What new things are we starting now?" At first, I think they dreaded me coming back because I would implement many changes and as we all know not everyone embraces change. I had one employee that always resisted something new. But, they soon realized the things I had learned made drastic improvements in the business. Some of the changes had to do with organization, others had to do with better ways to fabricate treatments in the workroom and of course, I was always purchasing products which usually required some type of learning curve. Not all changes made were good ones, but I made it very clear to everyone that we would try the new task or item for a month and if we did not feel it was productive or profitable we would discontinue it. Successful businesses endure many failures. Failures are necessary stepping stones to achieving our goals.

I often wonder why so many people attend conferences, spend all that money and then not make any changes in their business. This year make a conscious effort to takes lots of notes, prioritize them, then start to implement the things you've learned right away. Remember, "if you don't make time there will never be time."

Look for next month's article entitled "I just got back from a conference, what do I do with all this stuff?"

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