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Post from October 11, 2007

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(from an old post but the strategy is still sound)

Fastener Show Preparation

 Are you getting ready for the Las Vegas Fastener Show? Do you have strategy? No, I’m not talking about which bar you are going to end up at by the end of the night (although, that too is a strategy – and it should be the Bourbon Room). I’m talking about what networking you are going to do. Do you have meetings already set up? Are you going with a stack of prints? Or are you on a search for a new supplier of some type of fastener product? If you aren’t thinking ahead, you lose. There is not a better place or a better vehicle to make business contacts than at the Vegas show. You’ve got to do a little thinking before you get there.
My strategy?  I find a nice, comfortable seat right on the hallway that leads to the show entrance. I get to the show about an hour before it opens, sit down with a coffee and wait for the steady stream of suppliers and distributors to enter the show. I get there about 8:00 and stay till about 9:10 and then I enter the show and work through it. In that time period I have the opportunity to run into at least 100 people that I do business with, work with or want to do business with. Heck, I could work that one hour and the whole show would be worth it. I have made more contacts in that half hour before the show starts than a lot of people make throughout the whole show.

Found this Millennials article interesting

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Ask Stacy: The Millennials Are Ruining This Country. What Can We Do?

Money Talks News

By Stacy Johnson October 2, 2014 8:18 PM

We’ve got a lot to worry about. Terrorism. A gridlocked government. Global warming. Ebola.

Oh, and then there’s young people.

Here’s this week’s reader question, which is really more of a request:

I think someone needs to explore the subject of the workforce crisis posed by the millennial generation. These kids are so unmotivated, undisciplined, illiterate and distracted, it poses a danger to the financial security of this country and workforce security as more of these kids move into adult jobs. Some parents have trained these kids to mistreat their elders and bad-mouth their co-workers/customers. It is almost like working with an alcoholic, they are so distracted from their work due to their problems. These kids, even nearing their 30s, are still supported by parents and absolutely act like they have nothing to lose as their parents are enablers, supporting their every firing, unplanned pregnancy, overspending emergency and drunken driving arrest without question. — C

Now, here’s my opinion about the millennial “crisis”.

Who are the millennials, and why are they so bad?

First, let’s define who we’re talking about. While there’s no precise definition, millennials are widely considered to be those now ranging in age from 18 to 33.

C begins his comment by saying, “I think someone needs to explore the subject of the workforce crisis posed by the millennial generation.” Well, C, here’s some good news. It’s been done. A lot. As one example, here’s a snippet from a 2007 article from CBS News.

They were raised by doting parents who told them they are special, played in little leagues with no winners or losers, or all winners. They are laden with trophies just for participating and they think your business-as-usual ethic is for the birds.

Here’s another, from a 2012 article in The Washington Post:

These are the kids, after all, who text their dads from meetings. They think “business casual” includes skinny jeans. And they expect the company president to listen to their “brilliant idea.” When will they adapt?

While comments like these make great fodder for TV and cocktail conversation, start by considering the source: old people.

I suspect those doing most of the complaining are from my generation, the baby boomers. If so, it’s particularly amusing, considering that when we were young, many of us were growing our hair, smoking dope, starting communes, rioting, streaking, engaging in sport sex, and marching on Washington for reasons ranging from war to women’s rights.

If memory serves, my parent’s generation didn’t think any of this was a great idea. They were as convinced as C seems now that we were all the same and as a group would amount to nothing, except perhaps a drain on society.

And this is the way I suspect it’s always been.

The point is, before we start complaining, let’s remember that older generations have always freaked out about the next few. And yet, here we are.

They really are different

People differ. Differences often translate into mistrust, which all too often morphs into disapproval. This is human nature and has always been true, whether it’s woman vs. man, black vs. white, Muslim vs. Christian or boomer vs. millennial.

And millennials are different. A few months ago, Pew Research published an article comparing the attitudes of today’s young adults with those of boomers. Some interesting findings:

  • A third of millennials between the ages 26 to 33 have at least a four-year degree. That’s the most educated this age group has been in the history of the United States.
  • Only 26 percent of millennials are married . At the same age, nearly half the boomers were.
  • 55 percent have posted a “selfie” on a social media site . That’s about the same percentage of boomers who know what the term means.
  • Just 19 percent of millennials agree with the statement, “Most people can be trusted.” Forty percent of boomers do.

Fret as much as you like, fellow older folks, but I’ll reserve my worry for more pressing matters. In the end, all generations will find a way.

After all, other than starvation, isn’t that our only option?

Why I need to befriend smart, young people

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Note to self:  Make friends with young, smart people.

I recently saved an article from the USA Today that I got in a hotel lobby.  The headline was, “Amazon to acquire Twitch for nearly $1B”.  A billion dollars for Twitch!  Quickly I asked myself, what the hell is Twitch and why would Amazon squander a billion dollars on this?  Twitch is “a video service aimed at gamers that allows them to broadcast their virtual exploits to other online”.    So, as I read the article, I started to get it.  I know my kids (mostly boys) would play Xbox and PlayStation games for hours with their friends and I could even hear their friends voices over the speakers when they were miles away at my own home.  The article also stated, “Twitch hosts more than I million broadcasters.  In July, 55 million unique visitors watched more than 15 billion minutes of content”.  Wow.  I was pretty impressed when I got to 200 subscribers on my old Fastenerblog website.  Now I’m starting over again and not near that number.

I don’t think it is just this product in particular that I am unaware of.  I think there are hundreds of companies worth millions, if not billions of dollars that I have never heard of or even understand what they do.  I could be wrong about Twitch.  It could have been started by some grandpa with a lot of time on his hands, but I somehow doubt it.  The point is, I had never heard of Twitch and I suspect there are loads of technologies of which I am ignorant.  Gaming technology does not bother me that much.  I’ve played Xbox a handful of times with my kids till they humiliated me with my slow reflexes.  But, I know there are a lot of business related technological developments that probably would be useful to me that I am unaware of.  Things that would make my life easier and more efficient.  And who has the time to keep up on all this?

So, I think I’ll just go find myself a young person that will sort through all this information and tell me what I need to know.  I would ask my children but they have absolutely zero patience showing me anything on a computer.  NONE.   “Dad, just move over”!

 

Seems like about a week ago…

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Seems like just about a week ago that we were getting ready for the 2013 Vegas Fastener Show, talking about Brighton Best purchasing Porteous and wondering what else was going to happen in 2014 to radically change our industry.  This week we turn the calendar to October and the Vegas Fastener Show is looking us square in the eye.  There have been some acquisitions in 2014 but it seems like it has been a lot quieter than what everyone expected.  Business has been good most of the year and I think the rest of the year should remain steady.  Let’s hope so.

This year we will see a new program rolled out.  The Young Fastener Professionals organization in partnership with the Fastener Industry Coalition will be announcing the “30 Under 30”.  These are the 30 people under 30 who look to be the movers and shakers of the next generation in our industry.  Ryan Kertis of Stelfast started up the Young Fastener Professionals association and is certainly worthy to be named a 30 Under 30 – but he will not as he is one of the organizers of the program.  Check out his website at www.youngfastenerprofessionals.com.  Also, you can join Ryan and his group at the “Bolt Bash” which will be held on Wednesday, October 22 from 5:00-6:00 p.m. at Kahunaville at the Treasure Island.  You will get a chance to meet Ryan and his board of directors and do a little networking with some of the young people who are embracing and helping to grow the fastener industry.  And, don’t sweat… you’ll be done in time to make it to the annual Fastener Show Opening Bash program sponsored by the Vegas Show organizers Mike McGuire and Jim Bannister.  That is always a great place to catch up with hundreds of other fastener people.

Of course, on Thursday night, after the show and all the hospitality suites are done, come hang out at the Bourbon Room.  Networking is such a huge part of what happens in Vegas and the casual atmosphere of the Bourbon Room is a perfect night-cap to a great day at the show.  This is an outstanding networking event and one you should not miss.

As I started, Vegas is right around the corner.  And, wasn’t it about a week ago…

 

About a week ago

 

Bourbon Room Bash

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Out in the field, many people are talking about the upcoming Vegas Fastener Show.  It’s next month!!  Do not forget to join us at the Bourbon Room on Thursday night after the show and after you dinners and hospitality suites.  Last year, there had to be a couple hundred fastener people hanging out there at the end of the night.  Great, GREAT networking opportunity.  I’m sure there will be a lot of returning Bourbon Room Bashers but please spread the word.  There is always room for more!

A Scholarship Opportunity and a Scholarship Announcement

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So, before I get into this, did you ever figure out where to find the picture of Atlas trying to roll the stone uphill??  Check out the Fully Threaded Radio site: http://fullythreaded.com/fch/fullythreaded.nsf/Fastener Scroll down to the bottom and you will find him.  And, if you listen to Fully Threaded Radio, you would also know they are offering a scholarship.  Actually, Fasteners Clearing House is offering a scholarship for full tuition to the Fastener Training Institute’s “Fastener Training Week”.   Here is a little more info from their press release:

“The announcement was made during episode 83 of the online talk radio show, Fully Threaded Radio, known as  “voice of the FCH Sourcing Network”.  To qualify for selection, candidates must work within the fastener industry and must submit a brief essay, approximately 250 words in length. The essay should address the importance of training in the fastener industry, and the impact of training on the candidate’s career. Candidates can be nominated by owners or managers, who are welcome to submit an essay on behalf of a nominated candidate. There is a limit of one nominated candidate per company, however there is no limit to the number of individual candidates from any given company who submit an essay on their own behalf.  The deadline to submit scholarship candidate essays is October 15th, 2014, and the winner will be announced during the Las Vegas Fastener show after-event, known as the “Bourbon Room Bash”, October 23rd, 2014.  Scholarship essays become property of the Fastener Training Institute, and may be submitted to:   ftr@fullythreaded.com

So, even if you did not track down Atlas on the Fully Threaded site, you still have an opportunity to earn on through their generous contribution to our industry.

And, speaking of generous organizations, the group “Women in the Fastener Industry”, aka, WIFI just announced the winners of their  scholarships.  Per their release:

“The WIFI scholarship committee is happy to announce the 2014 recipients of the Ann Bisgyer Wolz Scholarship and the Edith Cameron Scholarship. Patricia Dyer of Stelfast, will attend classes at the Fastener Training Institute as the recipient of the Ann Bisgyer Wolz Scholarship.  Shelby Cunningham, the Interactive Media Coordinator at Hudson Fasteners, is the recipient of the Edith Cameron Scholarship and will attend the 2014 National Industrial Fastener & Mill Supply Expo in Las Vegas.” So, there are a few organizations committed to smartening up our industry.  And the Fastener Training Institute’s programs is certainly worth the time and effort.  Hats off to FTR and WIFI for investing in the people of our industry.

Sheriff, there’s a new blog in town!

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The ladies from Hudson Fastener are at it again!  Hudson Fastener, arguably the most active fastener Twitter people in the industry, have launched a new blog, and it aims to bring you all the fastener news that is out there to one site – www.FastenerNewsDesk.com

According to their news release, they “will aggregate, support, and promote all news related to the fastener industry.”  They cover fasteners, aerospace, construction, additive manufacturing, advanced manufacturing, 3D printing, social media, technology, STEM, trade shows and everything in between.  In short, they are spending a lot of time consolidating information from multiple media outlets and delivering the information to their Fastener News Desk site where you, the fastener industry professional, can conveniently scroll though and see what information is pertinent or useful to you.

You may already subscribe to some of the industry publications that they feature but there is a lot more information than that and it is definitely worth checking out.  Additionally, the folks at Hudson Fasteners deserve some credit for trying to push the limits of how social media is being used in the fastener industry.  There are certainly a lot of slow adaptors in our industry but that is not stopping the Hudson group from forging ahead and trying to engage the individuals who do see value and opportunity though the social media tools.  Their Twitter feed, @FastenerNews recently reached over 2700 qualified followers and they have an additional 1300+ qualified members on LinkedIn.  Over 1300 people currently view their online newspaper.  Clearly, someone is out there on Twitter and LinkedIn and Hudson Fasteners is committed to networking with as many of them as possible.  Check out their new blog and see for yourself.

 

Strong Summer Fastener Sales

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Over the last few weeks I have visited several customers who have had really strong sales this summer.  In fact, one day I had three different companies tell me that they had record months in July.  I wondered if it was just my area or even just certain particular geographic areas that were seeing this.  Then, I was online reading fastener news and happened to look at some headlines from Global Fastener News.

“Fastenal Reports First Double Digit Fastener Growth Since 2012”

“Bossard Reports Record Sales and Profits”

“Lindstrom Opens Texas Warehouse to Expand in Southwest” – not related to sales specifically, but expansion

There seems to be a lot of positive fastener sales sentiment out there.  While speaking with Eric Dudas of Fasteners Clearing House he mentioned that July was a record breaker there too.  Eric reported that they had a record number of “drill downs” which he described as when people who are looking for items actually find and purchase them.  Eric can clarify this if he needs to but I take it that a “drill down” is essentially when a fastener search and find is successful.  Go do your own search  at www.fastenersclearinghouse.com.

This time of year is usually still vacation time.  Historically, it is not that surprising to hear that companies are slow in July and then again around the holidays in December.  Not this year.  Hope this suggests that the remainder of 2014 is going to be strong.  And we are now entering into the back-to-school, all done with vacation time of year.  And it our industry, that quickly leads us into trade show season.  That is always a good time for hearing feedback from others in the industry from coast to coast.  In the meantime, let me know how things are going in your neck of the woods.