There is an oft told business fable that is usually asked in the form of a question: In a bacon and egg breakfast, what’s the difference between the chicken and the pig? The answer, of course, is the chicken is involved but the pig is committed. The moral of the story is that while both parties are necessary to produce the dish, the roles are quite different; the chicken provides the eggs, which necessitates her involvement in the process, but the pig is truly committed because providing the bacon requires his sacrifice.
I’ve been in the promotional products industry for 17 years and have been involved at both the regional and national levels for quite some time. I have always felt that volunteering for an industry that has given me so much was important. In the past seven years, I have been involved in the following:
• Served on the Board of Directors for two regional associations (PPAChicago and PPAMS)
• A PromoKitchen chef
• PPB Magazine Advisory Board
• Several PPAI workgroups including the North American Leadership Conference
• Member of the Regional Association Council (RAC) Board
Given my volunteer activities, I always felt I demonstrated commitment to the betterment of the industry. That perspective shifted last week as I had the honor of joining over 80 volunteers in our nation’s capital to speak with members of Congress about important issues facing the promotional products industry for PPAI’s Legislative Education Action Day (LEAD). In short, the conversations focused on four issues:
• The Promotional Products Industry – Educating our legislators that there are more than 34,000 promotional products companies in the United States – the clear majority of which are small businesses – generating nearly $21B in annual revenues and employing more than half a million Americans.
• Proposed Border Adjustment Tax – The proposed Border Adjustment Tax (BAT) would place a 20 percent discriminatory tax on all imported products – including promotional products – which would hurt American consumers and employers by increasing the costs of everyday products.
• Independent Contractor Rules – Promotional consultants remain independent so they can run their own business, decide their own career path, and run a business as their own. We are asking Congress to modify the tax code to treat promotional products independent contractors the same as direct sellers.
• Potential Advertising Expenditure Legislation – Advertising expenses are currently 100 percent deductible in the year the expenditures are incurred. Recent tax reform proposals would allow only 50 percent of advertising expenses to be deducted in the current year with the remaining 50 percent amortized over five or more years. This would result in companies dramatically reducing their advertising spend which would adversely impact the promotional products industry.
Working with fellow Tennessean David Tate of Signet, we met with Sen. Bob Corker, Rep. Scott DesJarlais, Rep. Steve Cohen, Rep. Phil Roe, Rep. Marsha Blackburn, and numerous staff members. Each one not only came to the meetings prepared, but all listened carefully to our concerns as we discussed the above issues. After leaving my final meeting with Marsha Blackburn, the representative from my district, I felt a sense of commitment to the industry that I had never experienced before. I truly understood the difference between being involved and being committed.
While LEAD is a two-day event during Promotional Products Work Week, the dialog between our industry and elected officials continues throughout the year. PPAI president Paul Bellantone put it best when he said our efforts are “gentle pressure, relentlessly applied.” Every person in our industry can be part of applying that gentle pressure relentlessly without having to visit Washington D.C. PPAI has an entire section of its website dedicated to providing resources for all members including education on issues, ways to engage local/national elected officials, and how to become a grassroots representative. You can learn more by clicking here.
After years of being actively involved in the promotional products industry, I became committed last week – and I plan on staying committed for a very long time. Now is the time to ask yourself: are you involved or committed?
In this case, it’s far better to be a pig than a chicken.
Bill is president of PromoCorner, the leading digital marketing service provider to the promotional products industry, and has over 17 years working in executive leadership positions at leading promotional products distributorships. In 2014, he launched brandivate – the first executive outsourcing company solely focused on helping small and medium sized-promotional products enterprises responsibly grow their business. A featured speaker at numerous industry events, a serial creator of content marketing, president of the Promotional Products Association of the Mid-South (PPAMS), and PromoKitchen chef, Bill has extensive experience coaching sales teams, creating successful marketing campaigns, developing operational policies and procedures, creating and developing winning RFP responses, and presenting winning promotional products solutions to Fortune 500 clients. He can be reached at bill@PromoCorner.com.