36 Months in the Making
It was more than tough. It was brutal.
March 2023. 3 years ago the tradeshow industry came to a halt. Screeching Halt, Fast Halt, "Whatever" Halt you can think of to describe companies across the USA (& globe) who's business came to a stop. Not a reduction. But a stop.
How bad was it? Imagine what your company would look like if revenues were below 20% for the next year starting next month with no warning. What would be cut? Who would be cut? Remember we expected to "flatten the curve" after 2 weeks. Of course PPP money was applied for and received. We kept people on staff until that ran out. But a funny thing about this business. Overhead still required funding. The electric company, gas company, insurance companies, banks and others still wanted to get paid. Did I mention the tax man still wanted his cut on what little we sold?
领英推荐
We tried to "pivot." Selling plex shields, "6 ft" stickers and any PPE we could find a customer for - but as a company we build custom displays and exhibits. That is what we do, and the pivot was harder than expected. Our whole team was focused on custom, not common place. We did have two permanent displays as projects in the 2nd half of the year that helped us get through.
Tradeshows started back up eventually. One here, one there. But it was different. Nobody knew the "rules of the road." Having been to a few tradeshow floors this year - it is safe to say: Tradeshows are back.
Our services team is busy. New rules (aka new charges) from the GC's of tradeshows. We are building the "custom" again. The supply chain is not where it needs to be still but we are getting it done for our clients.
The challenges of pandemic are over. But not forgotten.
CEO/President, COO, CSMO, Managing Director, Board Director, Investment Partner, Governance, Compliance, Organic/Acquisition Growth, Profitability, Strategic/Tactical Planning and Execution, Measurable Team Results.
2 年Feast, then Famine, and now it’s time to eat again! Congrats on your survival. Never forget the lessons learned in the tough times. Now “go get em, and get em good!! “ Remember, “You are stronger than you know, and wiser than you think”, therefore “Strive with persistence and determination in all things. Seek excellence in the small and the big things of life. Press On…Press On!”
Father | Husband | Veteran | I just enjoy doing cool stuff with awesome people, especially when it comes to data and decision making.
2 年Brutal, so glad to hear things are bouncing back, and way to stick it out, brother! I imagine it was tougher than most could imagine... good on ya!