Up Your Business is an exclusive GEARS Magazine feature in which I share stories, insights, and reflections about business and life challenges.
Many things in life leave me dazed and confused. For instance, help me understand the logic behind my wife’s decision to purchase another Louis Vuitton purse. She said she needed one that was large enough to sneak bottled water and candy into the movie theater. Maybe it’s just me, but that idea seems absurd. For the price of that purse, she could have bought water and candy at theater prices for the rest of our lives, our kids’ lives, and our grandkids’ lives!
No one could point out the absurdities of life better than Comedian George Carlin. For five decades, he entertained us as a master satirist, reflecting on just about every aspect of life – politics, society, sports, religion, culture, the English language, psychology, and various taboo subjects. He could hold an audience spellbound as he scrolled down a list of oxymorons that famously included things like Jumbo Shrimp, Black Light, and Military Intelligence. He asked questions like, “Why do we drive on the parkway and park on the driveway?” I’m sure that George would have had something to say about my wife’s Louis Vuitton purse.
I was a George Carlin fan, and his humor inspired me to think differently, questioning those things that are seldom questioned or challenged. All too often, we go through our lives thinking, “It’s just the way it is.” But this isn’t really thinking, is it? It’s just easier to keep doing things the same way we’ve always done them.
However, sometimes, life deals us a hand that forces us to think, react, and make significant changes. If you’re like me, you’ve just about had it with any conversations about COVID – especially when it comes to blaming COVID for anything and everything. It’s not that COVID isn’t responsible for a lot of hardship and the many significant changes we’ve experienced in the way we live and how we do business. But I’ve heard COVID as an excuse too many times, and I’ve just about had it! It’s become a handy excuse. What did we blame before COVID? I don’t remember because ever since I got COVID, I’ve been dazed and confused, and I can’t remember anything – humor intended.
Well, I said all that to tell you if you read to the end of this article, you’ll endure hearing one more thing that’s COVID’s fault. It’s not entirely COVID’s fault, but if it weren’t for COVID, things would have been different, or more accurately stated, things would have been the same as they’ve always been. And whether that’s better or worse is entirely a matter of your perspective.
If you’re not dazed and confused yet, hold on. What I want to talk about is this year’s Powertrain Expo, and that it’s scheduled on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday of Labor Day Weekend, August 31st – September 3rd. Your first reaction might have been, “What are they thinking? Don’t they know that’s the last family weekend of the summer season? Don’t they know that people have traditional plans? Don’t they know it’s always been at the end of October?”
Before I get into all the good things about having it on the Labor Day weekend, I need to explain the role that COVID played.
Most of you see Expo through the eyes of an attendee, participating in the seminars, visiting the tradeshow exhibitors, and enjoying the evening reception. Of course, there’s the camaraderie of old friends and making new friends. And many of you take advantage of the abundant entertainment options that Vegas offers. As an attendee, it’s easy to overlook all the planning, preparation, hard work, and expense that makes the tradeshow an enjoyable experience that flows almost seamlessly for you.
Here’s where COVID comes in. This is the part of the story that you probably haven’t considered because it’s hidden from your view – not because it’s a big dark secret, but because it’s the stuff that goes on behind the scenes of the Powertrain Expo event.
Negotiations for convention and hotel space precede Expo by over two years. ATRA must make financial guarantees to the hotel and convention property management to secure the space. Because COVID shut down Vegas leading up to our 2020 Expo, we canceled the live show in favor of a virtual show. Because of financial guarantees, that cancelation came at a tremendous cost to ATRA, and the exhibitors also suffered financially. Plus, there was the cost of producing the virtual seminars and tradeshow.
As you’ll recall, last year’s Expo was a pared-down version of those of years past. While those who came thought it was one of the best, the smaller numbers of attendees and exhibitors still resulted in significant losses for ATRA.
So, what does that have to do with this year? Well, ATRA was still on the hook financially for the canceled Expo in 2020, and we weren’t the only organization that canceled shows in 2020 and 2021. That resulted in high pent-up demand for convention and hotel space. It was a feeding frenzy, the likes of which had never been seen. Suitable convention space with nearby, affordable hotel rooms was minimal. Our best option was Harrah’s with its newly remodeled rooms and the New Caesar’s Forum Convention Center on August 31st through September 3rd.
However, the decision didn’t come easy. The ATRA Board and Expo Management Team spent days weighing alternatives, which even included the possibility of postponing the Expo into late 2023, essentially canceling it again, and incurring more financial penalties. Then we changed our perspective. We started looking at the positives instead of just seeing the negatives.
ATRA is serious about making Expo an outstanding experience for attendees every year. To that end, we seek feedback and suggestions from attendees, always looking for ways to improve. In recent years, we’ve received constructive criticism, questions, and suggestions that we can now address with the earlier show date. Here are just a few.
- Why don’t you make Expo more family-oriented?
- It seems like a lot of the family activities in and near Vegas have already been shut down for the winter season by October – the waterpark and Lake Mead boating, for instance.
- The weather is so edgy in late October. It’s hard to plan any outdoor activities.
- Can’t Expo be held earlier in the year, so the hotel’s pools are still open?
- Expo in late October keeps me from enjoying Halloween with my kids.
You can enjoy a tax-deductible family vacation by attending Expo on the Wednesday through Saturday before Labor Day. Since your shop will be closed on Monday, Labor Day, why not extend for a couple more days and take in some of the area’s attractions that you wouldn’t usually have time to do? Take a look at the suggestions from SMSKits.com on pages 12 and 13 of this issue of GEARS.
Also, the newly remodeled Harrah’s will blow your socks off, and take note of the fantastic room rates we were able to get for you. The New Caesar’s Forum Convention Center is probably the nicest Expo venue ever.
By the way, don’t get so caught up in the fun that you forget all the solid business reasons for attending Expo: the seminars, visiting the tradeshow exhibitors, and the camaraderie of old friends and making new friends. The training and experience of Expo is a must.
At the beginning of this article, I talked about George Carlin’s observations on life’s absurdities. Rodger Bland, the Managing Editor of GEARS, offered one of his own, “The older we get, the more we don’t like things the way they are, yet we don’t like to change – go figure.”
Our attitude toward change is only a matter of perspective. Last March, the time changed for most of the country, but it doesn’t change here in Arizona, so I don’t pay much attention to it. So, on Monday, when I tried to check into the GEARS daily Zoom meeting, the meeting was already over. The team teased me for being an hour late, but I told them that I was 23 hours early for Tuesday’s meeting from my perspective.
So, consider your perspective. Be open to change and the possibility that this Expo will provide an entirely new and exciting adventure for you and your family. Finally, if you do come to this year’s Expo and end up having the time of your life, remember to Blame it on COVID.
