Getting Back in the Swing of Things

Whew! It has been a while since I last posted to this blog.

I believe it is going to be a very busy winter season here in the southeast. There are more opportunities for local competition than there have been in a long time. I don't know if the GMO's are taking advantage of the fact that people are trying to save money (rated shows are expensive!!), or some other reason, but I am glad for it. Not that there has been a decrease in the number of rated shows scheduled for here, either! I am looking forward to all of it!

I have also noticed that my own business has actually increased. I am contacted by potential new students daily, and my regular students are taking more lessons than they were even one year ago. This is a very good problem to have as a business owner! It is a challenge, however, since I am only one person, and there are only so many hours in the business week. It isn't like selling a product, since I can't "make more" or be much more efficient (although time management is something that I work on all the time).

I feel that I am very lucky, and if I had to identify a reason for this increase, I would have to guess that people are spending a larger percentage of any discretionary income on self-improvement and continuing education rather than travel and luxury expenditures that will be gone as soon as the trip is over.

Long term enhancement is much preferable to instant gratification. I have long thought that people are much more happy when they focus on self-improvement than when they chase material possessions. I wonder if the recession might be the best thing (long term) to happen in a very long time?