|
Create
Your Own Conference NARTS Conference: where you can experience the thrill of being with over 250 like-minded business people who are renowned for being welcoming and friendly. Casual and planned get-togethers, field trips, workshops, speakers, and SourceMart are designed specifically for resale, consignment, and thrift shop owners and operators. You'll meet wonderful peers, and some of my fondest memories in the industry are of the Conferences I helped plan, participated in, and attended. If you can afford to, GO! And be sure to read How to Have a Great Meeting to get the most out of it. If you hesitate to go, check out my thoughts on "excuses" here. Problem is, not every resaler can go to Conference. With that in mind, let's look at how you can craft "your own conference". Let's see if we can make it less intrusive on family and business life, less time-consuming, and most of all, less expensive. Can we do it? Sure we can: after all, we're entrepreneurs, right? Kate's Plan for Tailoring your Own Conference: Here's the costs of going to Conference.
Total of the above: A tad over $2000. Now, let's see if we can tailor our own "conference" and learn as much on our own. Let's structure this as thoigh we were at Conference: Thursday:
Before Conference, the Sharers'
get-together, a TGtbT event, 6 to 8 pm: The
Sharers of TGtbT get together in the hotel's lobby bar. Thursday:
Meet-n-Mingle. The NARTS get-together with fellow attendees, some of
whom bring shop scrapbooks. Friday: Bus Tour. Poke into 5-9 shops' sales floor, back
rooms, ask questions, and the host shops offer great
refreshments. On the bus, there's a box lunch and the chance to chat
with your seat-mate. (Oh yes and shop. Friday
Evening: Cocktail Party and Auction. I won't even
attempt to duplicate this. The party is truly festive, the buffet
scrumptious, the finery on your fellow resalers jaw-dropping. Saturday:
Keynote.
Workshops and lunch. Inspiring. Every speaker has valuable
lessons to impart in their 45 minutes. Saturday
evening: Conference free time. Join fellow
resalers for dinner and more.
Sunday:
Networking, a workshop, brunch buffet, Sourcemart. More learning opportunities and a chance to connect with vendors, perhaps meet your software people for
the first time. Sunday
night: Party with your newfound best buds. A
unique location every Conference.
Monday
morning: Up early to pack, and if your schedule allows, a
stop for one last NARTS event. Okay, your own personal Conference is at an end. Sure, you're still at home, ho-hum. On the other hand, think of the time you've saved getting to and from airports, packing, ironing, reassuring your staff they can manage without you. Not to mention spouse and dependents. Now: Set a budget to use to accomplish your goals. After all, with the suggestions above, you've saved about $1500 over traveling to Conference. Think of it: you could buy every Product for the Professional Resaler and STILL have money left over for (choose one or more) a TV commercial blitz for fall, getting your Sponsor listing on HowToConsign.com, a professional web design, direct mail to thousands of your customers, sending Kate a present... And let me reiterate... this plan is only if you cannot, for whatever reason, attend NARTS Conference. If you can, DO. And, just like your shop, this plan only works if you work at it. But you already know that, or you wouldn't be here, on Too Good to be Threw, the Premiere Site for Resalers!
|
||||||