HERE IN the U.S., August signifies the end of summer. The beach and camping gear are packed away, and, in a sense, a return to normal begins. For students, it’s going back to the routine of getting up and going to school. For adults, it’s resuming the work–life balance that for the previous few months had been heavily weighted on “life.”
August is also the time that organizations typically finalize their plans for the upcoming year. Many of you are likely in the process of fine-tuning your operating strategies and budgets for 2022.
At DSA, our focus over the last year and a half has been to ensure member companies have the information they need to move through the chaos brought on by the pandemic. We have taken the lessons learned from 2020 and have offered insights for keeping your businesses moving forward.
During the past 16 months, more than 5,000 industry executives have participated in our webinars and virtual events. This past June, DSA ENGAGE 2021: The Virtual Interactive Experience drew more than 500 registered attendees looking for answers on such topics as social media, supply chain and operations, technology, and public affairs and communications.
Modernizing the channel’s reputation arose as a focus of DSA’s new Chairman, Kevin Guest, the CEO and Chairman of the Board of USANA Health Sciences. He believes in the importance of shaping an image of direct selling that can further our channel’s brands’ ability to capture increased market share.
During the coming months, we will continue these conversations at DSA ENGAGE: Moving Forward Together to Better, to be held October 31–November 2 in New Orleans. I urge all DSA members to register today.
These critical conversations will also continue across the additional in-person DSA events scheduled for the coming months:
- The 2021 Women’s Industry Leadership Retreat will assemble the channel’s top women leaders to discuss their plans for 2022. The event will be held October 6-8 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. DSA thanks Joni Rogers-Kante, Founder and CEO of SeneGence, for hosting this event.
- The Direct Selling Compliance Certification Program (DSCCP) will be held October 12-13 in Washington, DC. This event will sharpen attendees’ understanding of crucial compliance-related concepts that will help improve their company’s reputation.
- The 12-hour DSCCP will be held in conjunction with the DSA Legal & Regulatory Seminar, which is scheduled for October 13-15 in Washington, DC. Registration for both events is now open at DSA.org.
The recently released DSA Growth & Outlook Survey revealed that 2020 was a recordbreaking year for direct selling in the United States. By moving forward together, we can keep that momentum going.
We look forward to collaborating with you and seeing you in person this fall.
Melissa K. Burton is the Senior Vice President, Education & Meeting Services for the Direct Selling Association.
