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Saturday, July 12
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9:15am-10:30am
Surf's Up - Who's on the Web
Knowledge leaders: Bridget Behe
Most of us can't imagine life without cars, cell phones, and computers. Are customers any different? Internet marketing is a way of life for many businesses. Customers are looking online for information about gardening. Recent research at Michigan State University shows who is seeking information and who is buying plants and related products online. Bridget will share cutting-edge research results and suggest ways to implement findings to make your online marketing efforts more successful.
10:45am-12pm
Strategic Web Design
Knowledge leaders: Phil Adikes
With 7.3 million pages added to the Internet everyday, having an effective web presence is getting harder, but no less necessary. You will learn to strategically market on the web to build relationships, traffic, and referrals. Learn about push/pull marketing and the calls to action that work.
1pm-2:15pm
Success = Great Leaders + Great Teams Part 1: Am I the Leader I Need to Be?
Knowledge leaders: Harold Lloyd
Sponsored by American Nursery & Landscape Association
Do you have what it takes to be a leader? Learn the 10 qualities all great leaders seem to possess. We will measure your propensity to lead and guide you toward improving your leadership qualities. Whether leading the perennial department or the company, this session is ideal for anyone who has the need and desire to lead.
2:30pm-3:45pm
Success = Great Leaders + Great Teams Part 2: Building the Dream Team
Knowledge leaders: Harold Lloyd
Sponsored by American Nursery & Landscape Association
Great leadership is the key to success. Great teams are the foundation success is built upon. With great foremen, managers, or seasonal employees in short supply, the viable alternative is to “build your own.” The good news is, “building” creates more loyalty and a stronger organization. Learn how incorporating five management skills (orientation, communication, discipline, recognition, and performance reviews) can build your team into a dream team and help attract new employees in a competitive marketplace.
4pm-6pm
OFA Awards & Consumer Buzz Live! With Consumer Publication Editors Presented by Green Profit
Sponsored by GrowerTalks and Green Profit
Join your peers at this kick-off event as we spotlight OFA award winners and other industry recognitions. The awards program will be followed by the opening session - Consumer Buzz Live! All Short Course attendees are welcome to attend this session. Consumer Buzz Live! Presented by Green Profit Consumer Buzz Live has gained a reputation of surprising, and perhaps appalling our industry with the candid responses from Average Joes and Janes about their gardening experiences, habits, and needs. We're shaking it up this year by posing questions to a panel of "experts" on consumer gardening trends -- editors of leading consumer gardening magazines. These major publishing companies spend vast amounts of time and money delving into what their readers are planting, what products they want, how they view gardening, and so much more. Take advantage of this rare opportunity to find out first hand what really makes the consumer gardener tick! Come armed with questions and prepare to be enlightened.
6pm-7:30pm
OSU Annuals and Mixed Container Trials
Board a shuttle bus at the Convention Center Connector for a short ride to The Ohio State University Learning Garden Annuals & Mixed Container Trials. View, compare, and evaluate the different annual cultivars and the container trials at your own pace. Results from past trials can be viewed at http://floriculture.osu.edu. Shuttles will depart the convention center and OSU approximately every 30 minutes. Final departure from OSU will be at 7:30 p.m. Return trips will drop off at the OFA Short Course hotels. Open to anyone with a badge.
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8am-9am
Manager Idea Exchange
Knowledge leaders: Gary Hudson, William McCurry
Back by popular demand, this is an opportunity to start the day by sharing management ideas that work and maybe even learn from some that still need tweaking. The beauty of the program is that some of the brightest in the industry come together to explore, develop, and share great management ideas. This Exchange is for managers or anyone who would like to become a manager. Bring your ideas, problems, and questions and hear how others may help solve your issues. Bill and Gary will help the group find better, faster, and smarter ways to get things done. You'll get a hugh return on investment.
1pm-2:15pm
Understanding the Critical Aspects of Running a Profitable, Growing Business
Knowledge leaders: Jay Goltz
Jay will reveal common issues that are in the "blind spot" for many business people. This includes the hiring process, standards, pricing, marketing, and responsibility vs. accountability. Jay's speeches are grounded in blood and guts realities of running a business. No theory here.
2:30pm-3:45pm
Making the “Contract Growing” Connection
Knowledge leaders: Marvin Miller, Gary Mangum, Bobby Barnitz, Matt Maxwell, Nick Gapinski
Are you considering a contract growing partnership and wondering how to get this business started? Attend this session to hear how partnerships get started, to learn some of the economics of both sides of contract growing, and hear other do’s and don’ts for a productive relationship.
4pm-5pm
Understanding & Competing in a Maturing Marketplace
Knowledge leaders: Charles Hall
Many current trends and driving forces point to the fact that consumer demand in the green industry marketplace is maturing. If so, this dictates a strategic response on the part of all participants in the industry supply chain. Get proactive strategies that will not only help ensure survival but will also position growers, service providers, and retailers for competing profitably in this period of hypercompetition.
5:15pm-7:15pm
Retailer Idea Exchange
Knowledge leaders: Gary Hudson, William McCurry
Join us for this highly interactive idea exchange! Bill and Gary are back with one of the most popular programs of the OFA Short Course. Learn from a wide variety of retailers the ideas that are profitable for their businesses – ideas that increase traffic and sales and also help build community ties. Listen to how retailers have tweaked other’s ideas to make them fit – with great results! Take away a handful of ideas that can energize your business. Be prepared to share, brainstorm, take notes, and network with the best in the business during this dynamic session. Participants say that the Retail Idea Exchange helped energize their staff and make their business prosper.
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8am-9am
The Successful Woman's Guide to Time Management
Knowledge leaders: Jennifer Hunter
Sponsored by Greenhouse Product News and Lawn & Garden Retailer
Too little time and too much to do is a common condition for many. Everyday demands or chores seem to engulf the day, leaving little time to pursue those things you enjoy. Nevertheless, you do have choices in how you spend your time. Balancing what you need to do with what you want to do can lead to happiness and success. As a woman, this balancing act can be even more difficult due to multiple demands placed on you as a wife, mother, and employee. Join us as we learn time management strategies specific to women in
9:15am-10:30am
Retaining and Motivating Employees in Small Businesses
Knowledge leaders: Roy Prevost
“I QUIT!” Do these words strike fear in your heart or make your stomach sink? They should -- especially if they’re coming from your key employees. You need to protect yourself! Learn to motivate without speding a time; top reasons why employees learn their jobs and how to preven it; motivating different generations; and how to make your business the best place to work.
2:30pm-3:45pm
The Price is Right - More Money for Me
Knowledge leaders: Gary Hudson, William McCurry
Pricing is like the weather, we all complain there's nothing we can do about it. However, there are things you can do to garner more revenue from your current customer base. It won't happen if you keep doing what you've been doing. One strategy this session uncovers is the secret of how other products have "traded up" and how you can also. Additional strategies include pricing for profit, pricing for volume sales, and the pitfalls of pricing yourself out of business. If you're looking for more revenue, this session is for you.
4pm-5:15pm
Holding Onto the Cash - More Money for Me
Knowledge leaders: Gary Hudson, William McCurry
If you have more month left than you have cash left, something's not right. This session will open your eyes to where your cash is slipping through your fingers and how to be tightfisted for you personal success. You know it's what you keep after the bills are paid that matters. Discover little secrets (and some big ideas) to leave more money in you pocket at the end of every month.
5pm-10pm
Shuttles to Easton Town Center
Want to get away from the Convention Center for the evening? Easton Town Center has unique dining, entertainment, and shopping areas. For more information, visit www.eastontowncenter.com. Complimentatry shuttle service will run from the Convention Center connector to Easton Town Center on a continual basis. The last shuttle will leave Easton at 10 p.m. You do not need to register for this
5:30pm-6:30pm
Big Box Retail World
Knowledge leaders: Roy Prevost
Love it or hate it, the big box retail world is here to stay. The trick is to learn how to survive alongside them and prosper. Roy will debunk the mythology around this 700-pound gorilla and provide you with the tools and techniques needed to thrive in the retail environment. Get the REAL stories from the REAL world that offer REAL solutions.
6:30pm-8:30pm
OSU Annuals and Mixed Container Trials
Board a shuttle bus at the Convention Center Connector beginning at 6:30 p.m. for a short ride to The Ohio State University Chadwick Arboretum & Learning Gardens to view the Annual Cultivar Trials and Mixed Container Trials. Heavy refreshments, jazzy entertainment, and guided tours of the trials and gardens will be provided. This venue is the perfect place to network with clients, relax with friends, or simply meander through the gardens. Be sure to bring your camera and business cards! Shuttles will depart the Convention Center Connector and OSU every 30 minutes. Final departure from OSU will be at 8:30 p.m. Return trips will drop off at the OFA short course hotels. This garden tour/networking opportunity is open to anyone with a badge.
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8am-9am
POK: Parents of the Kids – Family Business
Knowledge leaders: Gary Hudson, William McCurry
Learn successful strategies for the “older generation” to train, recruit, and advance the younger generation into the family business. This session is geared for the older generation only. Be a part of the discussion of what works in our industry. At 10:30 a.m. there will be a joint debrief with both the older and younger generations to bring everyone working together toward common goals.
9:15am-10:15am
KOB: Kids of the Boss – Family Business
Knowledge leaders: Gary Hudson, William McCurry
Discover how successful younger generations advance in our industry to build stronger and more successful companies than their parents did. Admittance to this session is limited to the “younger generation.” At 10:30 a.m. there will be a joint debrief with both the older and younger generations to bring everyone working together toward common goals.
2pm-3:15pm
Be a Customer Magnet!
Knowledge leaders: Pat McWard
It is finally time to look at the entire flow of your sales service process. Treating and empowering employees set the foundation for how they will treat your customers. Learn to create a culture in which everyone is self expressed and customer centered. This results in customers who are thrilled, profits that are flowing, and everyone is jazzed. This is a fresh message of cutting-edge wisdom.
3:30pm-4:45pm
Help! I Have More to do Than Time to Do it!
Knowledge leaders: Pat McWard
Pat will show you how to stop being busy, drop worthless activities, and start thriving by taking right actions focused on what is most important to you, your company, and your customers. Tap into your individual talents and passion to work more effectively in a demanding and pressurized world. This is the “how” of cutting-edge effectiveness -- beyond time management to true success.
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