8-12-2017 -- The second day of KnowledgeFest 2017 marked its first full day of workshops and manufacturer trainings, which was capped by a keynote presentation by world-renowned speaker and podcast host, Brett Gajda. The keynote, titled "Accelerate Your Success," discussed how business owners can better identify and attain success in their business and personal lives: through strong, conscious leadership. 

 

"If leadership is how you do your day-to-day, you need to show up as much as possible," Gajda said. "I started to think about how the man I want to be would eat a hamburger. It sounds silly but it worked. As I sat alone I thought about how I might eat that burger in front of a date I really liked. Leadership is about being conscious and present. Be the person you want to be. Slow down and enjoy the flavor."

 

The presentation included personal anecdotes along with inspirational quotes and concepts by well-known authors. One such concept was from the book, "The Compound Effect," by Darren Hardy, which discusses how the little things we do can make a huge impact over time. "The book explains that 3rd gear isn't sexy. 1st gear, when we take off, that's sexy. 5th gear, when we're at top speed, that's sexy. 3rd gear is stocking shelves and checking inventory. That's when we check out mentally. Most people aren't willing to go through 3rd gear," Gajda added.

 

Highlights of the day's seminars included seminar like High Res - The Next Big Thing, with instructors Bryan Schmitt and Matt Schaeffer. It discussed how high resolution audio products are changing the game for customers and allowing retailers the opportunity to reinvigorate a category recently seen to be on the decline.

 

MEA President Chris Cook hosted his first classes in many years, including the course, "Profitable Merchandising: Stock Keeping Unit (SKU) Optimization." In the course, he conveyed best practices from many years in 12-volt as a former employee of companies like Circuit City, where it was important to justify both cutting costs and keeping costs, like paying for employee lunches during the busiest work days.

The show floor also opened for the first time during the event, revealing both a host of new product offerings and new faces. Companies making their KnowledgeFest debut included off-road speaker and amplifier manufacturer Probox, Brazillian company SounDigital and startup dashcam maker, Waylens. 

 

KnowledgeFest continues through Monday, finishing with the 2017 Industry Awards on Monday at 6:30pm. Find out more about events and seminars at kfest.me.