HD Expo 2008 in Las Vegas

So many thoughts in Vegas, perhaps the purest expression of capitalism in this hemisphere, after a full day of digging the Hospitality Design Expo and all of the fascinating products, services and businesses represented here.

Fascinating is relative, of course, but if you are a design/interior/space creation kind of person who also likes to travel for its own sake and its own rewards (as opposed to travel purely for business), the HD Expo is a robust and rewarding experience.

Of course, I am here on business, on behalf of The Frame Maker, a custom picture framing company in San Diego.

Anyone who has known me a long time is probably saying "What the f#$% is he doing still framing pictures?", and I have asked myself the same question, even though the owner of The Frame Maker, Steve Atlas, has been a client of mine since 2005.

Because I first started framing pictures in 1990, I understand Steve's business petty well through, and its been easy to fit in project to project as framer, designer, project manager, and marketing consultant. Steve and I have many shared interests beyond picture framing, and it has been pleasant and satisfying to work with him.

Before I launch into my thoughts on Vegas and capitalism, a little more context: The Frame Maker handles a variety of contract framing projects, meaning large volume, same size or similar of finished, framed artwork. Typically, our clients are art consultants, art dealers, art brokers and art galleries when it comes to these kind of jobs, and everyone of these art professionals that brings in a lot of work to The Frame Maker has had a solid relationship with Steve for over 20 years.

I am here exploring future possibilities for how The Frame Maker addresses these jobs, especially when the numbers suddenly jump from 300-400 to 2000-3000 pieces in a single job, and then drop off again a short while later.

The Frame Maker is just a 10,000 square foot shop, so space is always an issue when the jobs get really big.

But my issue has always been about the hourly guys (and girls) in the shop, who hire on for the crush and then get laid off when it slows down-- having been there myself, I am hell-bent on finding a way to even this out in Steve's business, which has a solid crew of four. Since 2005, with my help, we have knocked out several contract orders totaling thousands of frames, on time with a less-than 1% return rate.

The cliche goes that good help is hard to find, and the manager in me couldn't agree more. Thats why when you have someone good, and someone you've invested any training in that has stuck, they should stop being expendable, and their added productivity channeled into growth of the business.

Now we're getting to the good stuff about Vegas, because one of the best bets in any casino is the odds bet on the craps table, which you can raise as you go. The metaphorical beauty of gambling is that you strip out the product, the people, and the lifestyle (of being in business), leaving the financial transaction almost naked before the existential verification of "win" or denunciation of "lose".

Instead of driving home from the office at the end of a bad week, paycheck in hand but spirits demoralized, you trudge out of the casino with empty pockets and a head full of "should have....." and "if only...." when you lose.

Period.

No Monday morning, no Christmas bonus.

No cage, but no stability either.

Winning, of course, is brilliant, but so is a successful business deal or a series of good sales or a run of good ideas, for that matter.

And since none of those things go on indefinitely, the question could be raised as to how valuable stability is anyway?

The ideal of living or business be to sustain brilliance, or something like it, in building a business or making your fortune on the craps table or making the kind of complete business presentation that the companies here at HD Expo are doing, bringing their whole "show" on the"road" to present to industry peers and potential clients, where one introduction could be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars (or more) down the road.

Given that some of these booths alone cost hundreds of thousands of dollars (or more-- and I know from my past life working with Scenery West), it seems more than fitting that this show is here in Vegas, where that is still a pretty big bet. (for more specifics about the HD Expo, check out The Frame Maker Design blog at www.theframemaker.com)