America’s Best Cleaners Affiliates Meet in Park City, Utah

ALBANY, N.Y. - Oct. 22, 2015 - PRLog -- America’s Best Cleaners (ABC) Affiliates from 15 states and three countries met in Park City, UT from October 3-5, 2015 for the America’s Best Cleaners Leadership Retreat.  The Leadership Retreat included an outdoor workshop that blended the principles of martial arts and business management; presentations on business succession and wealth management; and an exchange of ideas for best business practices.

The semi-annual meeting of ABC Affiliates took place at the Lodges at Deer Valley, one of the resorts that make up Deer Valley, UT and followed immediately on the heels of the SPOT Users’ Conference that was held at the same location.

The first day’s agenda consisted of an outdoor workshop, led by ABC’s Business Coaching Consultant, Josef Shapiro.  Shapiro, Principal at Refound  and an eMyth Business Coach, has worked with many Affiliates of ABC one-on-one, and has consulted for the organization since 2008,.  A former competitive martial artist, Shapiro introduced attendees to the principals of Aikido, often translated as “the way of harmonious energy”, and a philosophy that easily translates to business management.

Day two opened with an interactive discussion of daily business situations in which the techniques and philosophies learned with Shapiro could be implemented and practiced in the workplace.  The group then heard from Jeffry Getty and Lisa Clifford, both Senior Vice Presidents at Key Private Bank, who presented vital information on succession plans, wealth management, and tax preparedness to the business owners in attendance.  The meeting wrapped with the sharing of best business practices and ideas amongst the attendees.

Darryn Kendall, of ABC’s Auckland, New Zealand Affiliate Regal Drycleaners, says he found a lot of value attending the Park City meeting.  “Big picture, sharing the best practices and benchmarking with other business owners is really valuable,” says Kendall.  “But, specifically, I’ve been trying to cut through some decisions about the best solvent, the best assembly system, and the best delivery protocol.  Being here and talking with the other Affiliates has helped clarify my thinking, and I’m ready to go back and implement some new systems.”

Alex Shvartshteyn of London Cleaners, Cleveland, OH agrees.  “The best value I’ve gotten out of my 11 years as an Affiliate is my relationship with other members,” he says.  “If I need help or input, I can just call or email one of the other Affiliates. I don’t feel like I have to travel the road on my own.” The fact that ABC Affiliates are, by design,  in non-competitive markets takes any hesitation out of reaching out for advice or information, says Shvartshteyn.

ABC is the dry cleaning industry’s leading independent certification organization.  Its stringent list of standards, which include regular and strenuous onsite inspections and testing, as well as surveys of retailers and clients and secret shopping reports, has resulted in an elite network of affiliates across the three countries.  ABC’s overall goal is to identify and certify top dry cleaners, it also provides a forum for educating and informing these professionals about the industry’s cutting edge technologies and business practices.  One recent initiative is the formation of a NextGen group with the mission to identify and mentor the next generation of leaders in the drycleaning industry.

Colin Robinson, Plant Manager at ABC’s Calgary, AB Affiliate, Tower Cleaner and member of the NextGen group refers to a statement made by Shapiro during the Aikido workshop, “you aren’t born a leader, you’re made one.” “It’s great to be with leaders and business owners with experience at these meetings,” he says, “I’ve really found some role models here.”

Sponsors of the ABC Affiliate meeting included Kreussler Chemical and SPOT Business Systems.  The meeting was hosted by Henries Cleaners, Salt Lake City, UT.

For more information on the ABC program, please visit www.americasbestcleaners.com (http://www.americasbestcleaners.com/Home_Page.html).