Showcase 2009

So I’m here at Showcase. And it’s a big downer in some ways. Marketplace was horrible. We got in the room about 8:00 a.m. and they were already out of the cash-n-carry items, of which there were only a few things. And the check-out lines were ridiculous. The leaders were allowed to go in at 7:00 a.m. and they pretty much cleaned it out. And by 2:00 p.m. there were a lot of things online that were gone as well. So they didn’t do a good job with having enough products for people to buy. And we didn’t get shirts there – we had to order them and they are being sent out within 4 weeks. What’s up with that?

And I’m getting sick of the leaders sticking their heads in the sand in terms of traditional scrapbooking. They keep saying that digital and framing is the future. And that’s where we should focus. Well, that’s fine if you have a digital and/or framing customer base. Which I don’t. I have lots of customers who use Macs, so they can’t do digital. So how can I sell digital to them if it’s not available? Their solution? Get new customers. Um, hello – not quite as easy as it sounds. Where are these new customers?

While I don’t like the direction CM seems to be heading, I don’t want to give up. I want to see them/us succeed. But there is a lot that needs to be done. It’s been slipping since Asha took over, and I’m not seeing real solutions out there, only band-aids. I was hoping to see some positive changes, especially with the economy, but I don’t know if that’ll happen. The consultant count is way down – only about 47,000. They’ve gotten rid of recognition and have told leaders to economize their profit. But us lowly consultants – we get nothing, which gets us more discouraged. It’s up to our unit leaders to recognize us in their own way. Well, that means nada, since mine hasn’t done anything for me. I don’t even know our team’s stats because she won’t post them. I need to find a new unit to hang with and get the momentum back. And they're missing the boat by not offering workshop/retreat support. We need the residual business to keep us going. And we get that by workshops and retreats. But CM doesn't feel that counts as anything, and they belittle that. That's where almost all of my business comes from. And so many other people. So come on - give us a little support/training/help in that area. They would be amazed at the profits we could get.

Enough negativity. Tomorrow will be a better day and I’ll be out of this funk.