Does the phrase “tough economy” ring any bells? My guess is you have been engaged in more than one conversation about the economy in the last year possibly even daily, and if you’ve turned on the evening news, been on the Internet, read an e-mail or newspaper it is almost impossible to avoid the stories.
As with most anything, when money is in short or questionable supply our nature is to be conservative and cut costs across the board. There is a story in the Scope This section this month on page 30 that offers business tips for aesthetic practices and medical spas for 2010. I won’t give away the punch line, so to speak. However, in place of blindly cutting all “œunnecessary” expenses, tip number 10 is a very useful and valuable tool that should first be applied.
For instance, continuing education. It would be easy to look at the expenses involved in attending a trade show or educational conference and immediately determine it is cost prohibitive to do so. However, before coming to such a conclusion it is worthy of analyzing the expense of not attending also. Granted, projecting the costs of not attending educational conferences is a bit more speculative than calculating the costs of going. But it is just as important. I suggest that your findings will prove it is far more costly long-term to not attend.
So how do you contend with this challenge? Balance, you have to find the proper balance. It is likely that you will not be able to attend every trade show, conference, and networking event that you hear about. So, the onus is on you to do your research and seek out the best value for your dollar.
What are your reasons for attending: Visiting the exhibit floor to scout out new products and trends, meet with your manufacturer or distributor to gain perspective on how the economy is affecting their other clients and how they are coping with them, networking with attendees, product knowledge classes, and/or non-product specific education, et cetera? Once you have written down all your reasons, you can categorize them into wants and needs. Then begin to make decisions based on needs first and wants second. No different than choosing between a bacon cheeseburger and French fries or a turkey sandwich on whole grain bread and apple slices for lunch; it’s really about making smart choices that have the most benefits. Sure the first option might satisfy your taste buds short-term, but the second will provide sustainable energy and fuel to get you through the afternoon.
Here at AIA and DERMASCOPE we are listening to the needs of our members and readers and offering solutions to the challenges you have expressed. In the monthly magazine we are offering more small stories that you can read when you have limited time and more in-depth features written by a variety of educators to offer you a broader perspective on a given topic. Through the association we are re-tooling the website to make networking on a regular basis much more convenient and timely. Lastly, we are offering a series of educational classes at each of the International Congress of Esthetic and Spa (I.C.E.S.) events. These classes are not product specific in order to benefit as many as possible. Look on page 14 for a list of classes being held in Miami, April 10 through 12 and Dallas, May 15 through 17. We also want to make it more economically feasible for you to attend. As an AIA member, please be sure to call our offices at 800-961-3777 to purchase your discounted tickets to any of the I.C.E.S. events.
All my best,
Saundra
