Soon I’ll have the opportunity to renew acquaintances with many of you and meet many more PROs for the first time in Louisville at the Pumper & Cleaner Environmental Expo International.
It’s great to meet face-to-face with folks I communicate with through e-mail and phone calls for most of the year. The Expo always reinforces my belief that the portable sanitation industry is chock full of good, hardworking people. I am continually impressed with contractors’ small business smarts and willingness to share expertise and experience.
WHAT’S ON YOUR MIND?
At the Expo every year, a few issues seem to be foremost on the minds of PROs walking the exhibit hall at the Kentucky Exposition Center and attending Education Day seminars. A few years ago, skyrocketing fuel prices dominated discussions. And last year, there was an air of uncertainty just a few months after the economic collapse of 2008.
It was almost as if contractors were collectively holding their breath, worried about the impact the deflated economy would have on their own businesses. There was a bit of foreboding about the 2009 construction season, wondering how many builders would be calling for portable restrooms or other site services.
To their credit, many portable sanitation companies kept their date with the Expo last year. Despite economic concerns, they made the trip to attend Education Day seminars and sharpen their skills for the future. They checked out the latest equipment, looking for new services to offer or timesaving products that could help as a hedge against an economic downturn.
It’s been that way throughout the 30-year run of the Expo. We’ve been through many economic ups and downs, but all those challenges haven’t stopped contractors from making the Expo an annual tradition. Remember the stock market crash of 1987, the boom of the late 1990s and the bust of 2000? How about the aforementioned $4 per gallon diesel fuel of a few years ago? Through it all, PROs have shown to be an optimistic bunch.
If there’s a lesson to be learned from looking back, it’s that business conditions run in cycles. When the economy is down, you know it will bounce back. When your company is flying high, you must be vigilant in preparing for lean times.
