Greetings and Salutations everyone! I wanted to start 2009 with a post about what’s new at GSA for 2009. Well, we had a very busy December, and January has kept me from writing that Blog. We are thankful that business has been good. While our numbers are down a bit from January last year, we are keeping busy, and have a number of solid bookings for 2009.
The year did not start off the best however. We had a terrible experience at the Canadian border (Port Huron) with an Immigration Agent that made Emperor Palpatine look like an altar boy. Regardless of the paperwork that we had (which was prepared by a Canadian Immigration Attorney and all in order), she simply would not let us cross into Canada. She had a number of excuses including, “Game Shows are NOT entertainment; You’re no rock band that I’ve ever heard of; I don’t care what the law says - I make the laws in this country.”
She probably failed to take her medication that morning - and as a result, she would not let us cross into Canada to do our job (and yes, we did have all the required paperwork). My thought is - if this person is the face of Canada - then they really need a new face. If anyone has any insight, comments, questions, or suggestions - please feel free to email me or comment on this post.
So to start off on dream number one: I have a dream that Canada rid themselves of this evil Immigration Agent at Port Huron and hire someone who’s actually seen a game show on television.
OK - back to the United States…
The economy is down. Everyone knows it. Everyone is feeling it. I wish I could say that the economy hasn’t affected us, but it has. Many clients who have always done events in the past are tightening their budgets this year and either doing smaller events or not having them at all. Surprisingly, we have had a number of inquiries from new clients this year. Almost all of our holiday events were from new clients. One client though, has just booked us for their holiday party for the 13th consecutive year! Our sincere thanks and appreciation goes out to Sussek Machine for being our very first and longest standing client!!!
One thing that we hope companies realize this year is that they need to do something to energize (or re-energize) their people. This can take place at meetings, conventions, training seminars, or parties. The reason I started GSA in the first place was because I realized that companies which continue to energize and motivate their people do much better in the long run, even through tough times. One of the best ways to do this is by making your meetings interactive - regardless of how big or how small they may be. We do realize that budget is a concern, and we have a number of audience response and game show options that fit into a variety of budgets.
One thing to keep in mind: Focus on investing money into what matters most for your events. There are a number of ways that companies can trim expenses so they can invest in the elements that have the most impact on the goals of the meeting. Most of what your people should take away from the event is intangible. The event should motivate, energize, and invigorate attendees to take the intangible that they’ve learned and turn it into tangible results for your company. Over the past 13 years, Game Show America has helped companies achieve this, even in troubled times.
GSA is a catalyst for creating positive energy that motivates, energizes, and invigorates people. When your people experience this, they take away with them incredible feelings and positive attitudes that in turn, empower them to do the best job possible for your company. In today’s economy, many employees are asked to do more with less. So now more than ever, companies must do things for their people to show them that they are appreciated for their hard work.
For dream number two: Invest in your people. They are your front line. By investing in them and showing them they are appreciated, your front line helps your bottom line.
For now, I’ll bring this post to a close.
Know that there is more to the message, and I will share that with you soon. Thanks for reading…
