perspectives-featuredIf you are like most industry professionals, you’ve worked pretty hard this year. You’ve spent a lot of hours on projects for your clients, following up on orders, traveling to meet with clients, vendors and factories, brainstorming ways to grow your company and working with your team to reach its goals. You’ve kept your head down and continued ticking off items on your to-do list while trying your best to keep up with new opportunities, resources, compliance issues and technology.

Time out!

How about doing something to invest in your most important asset—yourself?

When The PPAI Expo opens at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas next month it brings the largest collection of promotional products under one roof. Nearly 3,200 booths will showcase the latest introductions and top sellers in every category from awards to zipper pulls. You can also indulge in your choice of 100-plus education classes (most of them are free) to help you hone your skills, freshen your perspective and broaden your knowledge about the business.

So consider taking a few days away from your day-to-day business and immerse yourself in the best your profession has to offer. What you learn in Vegas, you definitely won’t want to leave behind.

Here are eight ways you can reward and empower yourself to begin a fresh year of business:

  1. Register for The PPAI Expo at www.ppai.org/expo. It’s quick and easy—and you can make your hotel reservations online as well through PPAI’s housing partner.

  2. Download the free SAGE Mobile™ app to create your walk list for the show, view an interactive floor plan and check off booths as you visit them. You can also add notes, photos and video and audio recordings on products and companies that interest you for after-show reference. The app also includes a link to a daily PPB Newslink@Expo to keep you up to speed on what’s happening inside and outside Expo. Download the app at go.sageworld.com/planexpo.

  3. Arrive in Las Vegas in time to fully participate in Education Day starting at 8 am on Monday, January 9. This is the core piece of the investment in yourself. Dozens of free sessions in eight topic tracks are available all day long, with the general session Power Keynotes from 3 to 5 pm. There’s also an optional keynote luncheon at 11:30 am. New this year is the aspect of crowdsourcing—a technique PPAI staff used to let show-goers vote on their three most wanted session topics. At press time, voters were whittling down the most popular topics from five to three, with the winning sessions to be presented at Expo.

  4. Relax and breathe. A new, Monday morning yoga class taught by the industry’s own Roni Wright, MAS, will help you do just that. Register for the free 6:30-7:15 am class when you register for the show. Namaste.

  5. Get an early-bird look at all the products and ideas on display in five Product Pavilions: New Products, Green Products, Made In The USA and Express Ship, and—new this year—the First Time Exhibitor pavilion where new Expo suppliers will showcase their best. Beat the crowds by arriving for the Sneak Peek at 8 am on Tuesday, January 10.

  6. Hear America’s No. 1 young entrepreneur, Johnny Earle, founder of Johnny Cupcakes, at Tuesday’s opening general session starting at 8:30 am. In his entertaining style, Earle will share how he’s grown his company from what he calls “a joke” to a multimillion-dollar, highly exclusive t-shirt brand driven by a community of worldwide collectors.

  7. Power through the show floor on Tuesday and then get in some valuable networking at the PPAI Block Party starting at 5:30 pm in the convention center. It’s a revolutionary concept for this show that includes food and drink, visits with featured exhibitors and the presentation of PPAI supplier and distributor awards in four categories. Then we turn up the dance music for Expo After Dark. Treat yourself to a little social engagement by getting your ticket to this event when you register for the show.

  8. Stop by the newly designed PPAI booth #2451 to rest your feet and listen in. We’ll be conducting live interviews with PPAI award winners, Expo speakers and subject matter experts on the Expo Live stage throughout the show. You never know who you might see there or what revolutionary ideas you might pick up.

I hope you’ll plan to treat yourself to Expo—and I’ll look for you there.