I never really ‘got’ networking until I went to a TLMI meeting. I understood the theory, but I always thought it was just shorthand for business guys playing golf. I don’t play golf. My partner at LPC, Jennifer Dochstader, attended the recent 2014 Converter Meeting held in Newport Beach, California and reports that it was an excellent series of sessions and, as ever, the chance to meet face to face with so many label converters, both large and small, made it one of the most productive trips of what has already been a very busy year.
They do enjoy themselves, but these are serious people, committed to their businesses and to the industry as well. And they’ll talk to you, share ideas, tell you about their experiences. My guess is that the openness (even between fierce competitors) is related to the fact that America is a Big Country (suitably capitalized), and while TLMI has members who have rooftops in lots of places, the truth is that much of their business is still done regionally.
The end result is that while I might have a label shop in New Hampshire and yours is in Oregon or Georgia or Michigan, we have similar challenges and are prepared to listen to the solutions we’ve each tried or are thinking about trying.
This is about as simplistic as can be and I’m doing a disservice to TLMI members by even characterizing it this way, but ‘networking’ is a hard word to get your arms around or effectively describe. What we hear over and over from the members, the company owners and others who attend, is that every time they walk away from a meeting they do so with something tangible. Something beyond friendships and camaraderie and technology and information, and that’s why they go and why they will continue to go.
Might also be why membership in the association is at record levels. They’re doing something right.
I was happy to put together a montage of TLMI members. To see if you recognize any of the players (Jennifer’s even in one of the snaps if you look close enough), just click on the picture below.
If I can be of help to you in the future, don’t hesitate to drop me a line.
All the best,