LAUREL, Md. — While the Drycleaning & Laundry Institute (DLI) will still be providing webinars aimed at continuing the education of drycleaning owners and their staff, the courses for January will be a little different that normal.
The organization will be presenting WinterFest 2022 — a three-day virtual conference — in the coming month. The event, originally titled FallFest 2021, was postponed from December 2021 until the following month.
“We really weighed the needs of the attendee with the return on the investment for the sponsors and attendees alike,” says Peter Blake, executive director of the Northeast Fabricare Association (NEFA) and South Eastern Fabricare Association (SEFA), who are sponsoring the event along with DLI and the Pennsylvania and Delaware Cleaners Association (PDCA). “We realized it was in everyone's best interest to move to January when the holiday pressures will be less. I think the program will have more meaning and will be more impactful when people can be fully engaged.”
There will also be a regular DLI webinar later in the month.
January Webinar Schedule
The following webinars and virtual training opportunities will be held in January 2022. All times are listed for the U.S. Eastern Time Zone.
Wednesday, Jan. 19 (WinterFest Expo, Day 1)
- 2 - 3:30 p.m. Looking at the Economic Landscape of Today and Forecasting Tomorrow
- 3:45 - 5 p.m. The industry's Response to Once-in-a-Generation Challenges
Thursday, Jan. 20 (WinterFest Expo, Day 2)
- 2 - 3:15 p.m. Attracting & Managing the New Generation of Workforce
- 3:30 – 5 p.m. Taking Advantage of High Yield Marketing Approaches
- 5 – 7 p.m. Vendor Breakout Rooms
- Meet the Vendors - attendees choose the rooms they want to visit
Friday, Jan. 21 (WinterFest Expo, Day 3)
- 2 - 3:15 p.m. The Best Culture Wins
- 3:30 - 4:30 p.m. Understanding the Opportunities the Future Holds
- 4:30 - 5 p.m. Fall Expo Recap and Closing Session - Using Your Fall Expo Resources
- 5 p.m. Cocktail Reception
Wednesday, Jan. 26 — How to Determine Your Marketing Budget with Industry Marketing Coach Dave Coyle of Maverick Drycleaners
To register for WinterFest 2022 or for more information, visit NEFAbricare.com or PDClean.org.
Peer-to-Peer Meetings
DLI is also continuing to host weekly Peer-to-Peer Member Zoom meetings Tuesdays at 11:30 a.m. Eastern, each week in September, except for the week of Columbus Day. “Members learn how other cleaning business professionals are adapting to the current business climate, share ideas, get answers to questions, and even just vent,” Scalco says.
On-Demand Video Archive
For members who can’t attend live webinars, DLI offers recordings of the presentations. This archive currently contains nearly 100 videos in the following categories:
- Diversification
- Maintenance
- Management
- Marketing
- Production
- Finishing
- Stain Removal
- Business Sales and Acquisitions
For more information, visit DLI’s website.
Have a question or comment? E-mail our editor Dave Davis at [email protected].