Hearing the same news day in and day out about how bad the economy is just makes me want to scream! Yes, this economy is tough and probably will be tough for some time, but crying about it is not going to help. Instead, it’s my belief that you should be doing the same things that you would during a good economy, but do them a bit differently. In a nutshell: don’t stop; adjust.

For instance:
- Don’t stop advertising altogether; adjust your advertising dollars to a more select, focused group or market.
- Don’t stop participating in industry associations; if anything you should participate more, and rub shoulders with the people who can generate leads for you. These are the people you can talk with about the projects in the pipeline and build or strengthen relationships, thereby getting more of that shrinking pie of projects in a tough economy.
- Don’t stop going to events and/or shows. You should accelerate your activity here. Remember, in a tough economy the market opportunity is smaller, so you better be sure you are on the front line getting a higher percentage of what’s out there, because those are the guys that get the business and stay in business.
- And the most important “don’t” is: Don’t hide in your shell and hope the economy pulls you out soon.

In any economy, decisions must be made. Ideally, the best situation is to make the right decision; a less-thanideal situation is to make a wrong decision; but the worst situation to put yourself in is to not make any decision at all.

Here at The Powder Coating Institute (PCI), we arepracticing what we preach. We are adjusting. Rather than have a Coating Show in Indianapolis in the fall, we are having two smaller regional events. This reduces the cost for the exhibitor and the attendee so they can be more focused in their marketing effort and more frugal with their marketing dollars. You may have picked up this issue at the first of these events—Coating West 2009 in Las Vegas. This event does not just have great customized training sessions and extensive exhibitors but an evening networking event, too. So stay at Planet Hollywood and take full advantage of this year’s first-of its-kind regional event.

Another event that PCI is still doing, but a bit differently, is our Annual Meeting. Moving this event back a week (May 11-14) and starting it on a Monday give our attendees a 30 percent reduction in room rate down to $159.00 at the Hilton Sandestin, in Destin, Florida. This meeting’s agenda is a little bit different, too, with more of a focus on training and educating. Industry speakers, economy speakers, users of powder coatings from multiple markets , global powder coatings market overview, industry statistics only available through PCI, the launch of the new PCI Green logo, the president’s charge, committee reports and all of PCI committees will meet to continue the momentum on the many projects we have underway.

With the economic climate where it is these days, it is necessary for all of us to think outside the box, and spend our dollars where they will be most beneficial.

When Plato coined the phrase, “necessity is the mother of invention,” he knew what he was talking
about. It has become necessary to adjust, so adjust we must. Plato’s proverb is apparent throughout this Spring 2009 edition of Powder Coated Tough.

So my message this time around is this: Don’t just sit there; get plugged in! The world is not going to stop, and the sky is not falling. There are many opportunities for you to tap into. Remember what you used to do, and then do it…just do it a bit differently!

Sincerely,
Steve Houston
Executive Director, PCI