Live from Vegas: Lessons, Connections & Business Takeaways

Hey from Vegas!

Travel & Settling In (Tuesday, Jan 28th)

Tuesday was all about getting to Vegas early for the ARA Show. I checked in, caught up on leads, and made a few calls before heading to the convention center to register. After that, I met with some industry peers and talked shop. One key takeaway? I might need to start charging labor fees to align my pricing with the market—something to think about with a clear head later.

Dinner was with Intentional Systems (formerly Eureka), a tent manufacturer out of New York. I joined our sales representative and two other owners from Texas and Indiana. It’s always great to sit down with fellow owners and compare how they run their businesses. I kept it an early night, though—travel days catch up fast.

Education & Takeaways (Wednesday, Jan 29th)

Wednesday was packed with education seminars, though I’ll admit, this year’s sessions didn’t hit as hard as last year’s—especially the AI-focused ones. However, one seminar on creating an unforgettable customer experience stood out. Turns out, my usual phone greeting—“Peachy Party, this is Ramon”—needs tweaking. I should be getting the customer’s name upfront to establish better rapport. I actually knew this already, but I’ve been keeping it short because I tend to mumble. Time to slow down and make a change.

Another surprising standout? A session on digital forensics. I had no idea how much data a phone stores or how easily things can be faked. It was geared toward businesses with drivers, but the key takeaways were:

1. A factory reset actually does a solid job of wiping phone data.

2. If an accident happens and litigation is possible, grab the driver’s phone, power it down, put it in an evidence bag, and hand them a new phone. This preserves crucial data without overwriting anything.

Between seminars, I squeezed in a few calls and quotes—and even booked a small job for Sunday (more on that later).

Dinner with Goodshuffle

I wrapped up the day with dinner hosted by Goodshuffle, our inventory software provider. What I expected to be a standard business dinner turned out to be a great time. I connected with a couple of business owners on a deeper level than the usual surface-level "what do you do?" talk. The food? Fantastic. The drinks? Even better.

Goodshuffle itself is missing a few features I think we’ll need soon—mainly some CRM capabilities. But I love their customer service, and after this dinner, I feel like we’re part of their growth. They’re building, and it’s exciting to be on the ground floor with them.

Looking Ahead

Vegas has been non-stop so far, but plenty of good takeaways. More updates coming soon!

Talk soon,
Ramon