The fall is upon us and once again we are getting ready for our big industry rally. Once a year, the diving industry gets together to celebrate its existence. We attend or exhibit at the annual Dema Show with expectations of meeting more customers or vendors. We temporarily put our businesses on hold and invest a few thousand dollars to attend. No one I’ve talked with this year denies the fact that we need an annual trade show to meet new customers and find new vendors for products and services. The Dema Show is still the biggest game in town and we know from monitoring their web site, who will be exhibiting at the show this year. A number of companies also followed through by conducting primary research to determine how many qualified retail buyers were attending the show. So the venue is in place, the exhibitors are preparing their presentations and the buyers are making their plans to attend this annual event. I can’t speak for the companies who are not attending this year. They have to make their own decisions based on what they feel is best for their companies. But for those of us who are attending, let’s capitalize on the fact that this show provides us with an opportunity to be exposed to so many people in only four days. The goal as your association is to help our members make the most out of any situation and to be proactively involved in this industry. Read more about what we did this year in our “Progress Report” to our Members.

In our Business Management section, we continue with our Business Planning Series. In this article we cover the finer points of the Industry Profile. The more you know about your industry the better you can compete with other businesses that are targeting the same customers. An integral part of any business plan, the Industry Profile section helps us to understand how our business fits into the bigger picture. By researching this topic for our plan, we learn about the industry’s history, size, growth and future trends. We become aware of its vulnerability to economic trends and weather patterns, seasonal factors and technological and regulatory issues. We become better business people when we have a better understanding of our industry’s channel of distribution and who the key players are.

In our Company Profile section, we feature Susan Martin Inc. / Scuba Do Rag. A fantastic little company with a fantastic line of products, run by an extraordinary woman. This woman-owned company is a great example of the right person, having the right product for the right market. Like all small business owners Susan Martin’s story is one we can all learn from.

Our redesigned web site includes our Industry Trade Directory, a complete listing of Shows & Events, and all our new promotions at www.diveindustry.org. On behalf of our 150 Members and Staff, we would like to wish you success in the upcoming 2004 Holiday Season.