I feel so educated. After returning from the International Window Film Tint-Off and Conference I feel like I need a diploma and graduation cap. While inMemphis I learned a lot about our industry and, more importantly, you. I’ve compiled my list of what I know for sure after attending the International Window Film Tint-Off and Conference. 

1. We CAN all be winners. Only one tinter out of 42 can walk away as the champion, but that doesn’t mean that there were not other winners. Despite being told my whole life by my mother that I am special and meant to do great things, I have learned that you can be good at what you do and still have an off day or not live up to your own expectations. One wise contestant, James Williams, told me that just entering into the competition paid off for him because of all of the preparation—it already made him a better tinter. To my mother, you were right—I am a winner. To James, thanks for reminding me what a winner really is.
2. I’m not the only one who is socially obsessed. I actually felt giddy when Sara Santiago took the podium. My inner nerd was sucking in every word she said. I must learn how to grow my tweeting skills, post better Facebook statuses and write interesting blogs. The social guru encouraged all of us to tweet about the session and by the time I signed on I found I had been beat to the punch by a number of people in the session. I secretly glanced around the session to see if I could find my kindred spirits, but everyone was paying attention—then I realized I might be missing something and snapped back to devouring the presentation. I’m so glad so many of you are embracing the social world.
3. People generally do want to work together. I was pleasantly surprised to see so many manufacturers chatting with each other at the show. Everyone put aside their differences to come together to support one event. How refreshing! I know that business is rooted in competition, as we also learned from keynote speaker Mike Eruzione, but it was nice to see so many people caring about the industry’s growth above their own business competition.
4. Lines always have an end. The registration line was insane. I don’t think I have ever seen so many people arriving for something at the same time. I offered my alphabetical skills to help find badges and registration materials for attendees and honestly I was blown away by the amount of people there. Every time I thought we were catching up more people would join the line. However, my prompt readers, you all arrived right on time and after the initial wave of registration the line did slowly dissipate.
5. We need to hear more from dealers. What I took away more than anything from the event was the opportunity to hear dealers speak about what they see in the field on a daily basis. I enjoyed hearing Chris Robinson from The Tint Guy talk about his shop, what he struggles with and what he wants to see change. For dealers who are reading this, let’s chat. Send me an email at khodge@glass.com and let’s talk about what is and isn’t working for you and who knows—maybe I will feature it in my blog or a future article. 

Until next time, THIS is what I know for sure.