The International Woodworking Fair 2012 is the first site for expanded live sessions for the Cabinet Makers Association Professional Certification Program, an educational and marketing tool to improve woodworking businesses’ competitive advantage. 

CMA credentials offer a competitive advantage for any cabinetry and millwork shop, custom woodworker, or commercial interior firm by assuring clients that you are a reliable performer, and that you will deliver jobs as promised. At IWF, CMA offers sessions that make up the professional certification programming: Curriculum sessions contain required knowledge to pass our testing. CEu sessions are elective sessions. A person enrolled in the CMA certification program is required to earn 4.0 CEUs per year and to pass applicable testing.

You do not need to be a CMA member or enrolled in our certification program to attend these sessions. To apply credits toward future CMA professional certification, simply enroll and pay CMA program fees within one year of the session. You are not required to be a CMA member to become CMA certified.

Below are listings of accredited curriculum and CEU sessions held during IWF 2012. The CMA Professional Certification is described on page 11, and detailed at cabinetmakers.org/certification.html.

CMA at IWF 2012

On Tuesday, August 21, we’ve arranged a private, behind the scenes tour of the Sub Zero/ Wolf showroom. The Atlanta Sub Zero/Wolf showroom’s interior millwork and casework was entirely outfitted by CMA member Exclusive Woodworking, Inc. and is the second showroom completed by the Sub Zero - Exclusive Woodworking team. Space is limited to just 25 CMA members, so contact the CMA office to participate.

Wednesday, August 21, The CMA is on duty at Booth 1336, and the CMA Speakers Bureau launches a series of education sessions, some qualifying for Continuing Education Credits (CEUs); others are part of the CMA Professional Certification Program.

Thursday, August 22 The CMA 2012 Wood Diamond Awards are announced at a press conference at Booth 1336. At 4:30, we will host a roundtable event in the CMA classroom at IWF open to all professional woodworkers. That event, appropriately called “What’s Your Problem?,” is a networking event where attendees can pose nearly any technical or business management challenge they are facing to a small group of peers from across the country. Participants then help with advice and workable ideas to solve those issues. It’s free to attend, but advance registration is required through the CMA office. Later that evening, CMA members and woodworking industry friends gather for the annual banquet at a restaurant near the Georgia World Congress Center.

WEDNESDAY, August 22 Marketing 101: Basic techniques 9-10:30 am

New customers are the lifeblood of any business. We will walk you through time-tested advertising and marketing techniques and systems you can immediately install in your business that will consistently deliver new sales prospects. Through practical, easy-to-administer methods, you can build and easily maintain your personal, reliable source of fresh, motivated buyers that will continue flowing into your business and onto your radar screen as you need them. You will take away:

• A better understanding of the role of advertising and marketing.

• When an inquiry turns into a sales prospect.

• How to identify prime targets and get your messages through.

• How to compare one media to another.

• Low-cost and no-cost techniques that deliver.

Speakers: Dave Grulke, Executive Director, CMA

Marketing 102: Advanced Strategies for an Established Company 12:30 - 2 pm

You have got the basics and the business. Now it’s time to elevate your company to the next level by expanding upon existing clientele and creating additional opportunities. We will provide you with advanced marketing strategies and techniques that will build on your current sales and marketing plans. Through modern and up- to-date methods, you can grow your customer base and increase sales. You will take away:

• Digital strategies i.e. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn.

• How to plan and follow up on event hosting, cooperative supplier events, industry partner events.

• How to implement cooperative showrooms.

• How to develop relationships with existing and potential clients.

Speakers: Joe Knobbe, Senior Project Manager, Exclusive Woodworking, Inc.; Sean Benetin, President: Millwork & More, LLC

Sales 101: Qualifying a Sales Prospect

Someone has approached you about a project they have in mind. In an ideal world, everything from the first sentence of the conversation between the parties would go swimmingly, but we all know that is not always the case. As a shop owner, manager or sales rep, you need to determine several factors along the way, and the sooner you do that, the faster you can move forward with that person or move on to the next one.

Before you spend a single minute designing or pricing a project, you should have the answers to those questions and more from the prospect. We’ll give you the techniques to help you separate the winners from the others. This session is designed to give you the tools necessary to determine:

• Is this a real prospect?

• Are the timeline and budget workable and realistic?

• What is the budget and who else is competing?

• What are the keys to closing this sale?

Speaker: Sean Benetin, President: Millwork & More, LLC

THURSDAY, AUGUST 23 Pricing 101: Pricing Profitably 9 - 10:30 am

Labor, material, overhead and profit: the four basic elements to pricing. Or are they? In fact, those are the four core criteria that need to be considered, yet each has nuances and details that many business owners overlook or just don’t fully understand on a daily basis on every project they bid. In this introduction to pricing, attendees will learn the foundations of:

• Finding hidden labor and overhead expenses.

• How to consider depreciation of assets into their hourly rate.

• How to calculate owner/operator value.

• Determine “true” hourly rate based on efficiencies. Speaker: Sean Benetin, President: Millwork & More, LLC Finance 102: Insurance 101 12:30 - 2 pm Most business owners approach their insurance renewal like a trip to the dentist, because purchasing insurance for your business is a necessary and often a frustrating, complicated process. “Insurance 101” will help you understand the factors that determine your insurance premium and, more importantly, what you and your business can do to lessen your insurance cost. Yes, you can control your insurance premiums! Learn how you can positively influence your premiums and pay less than your competitors. This seminar is presented in easy-to- understand terms and concepts. You will learn:

• How Insurance companies look at your business.

• How your premiums are determined.

• Effective exposure reduction strategies.

• How losses are eroding your bottom line.

The presentation concludes with some specific riskmanagement action plans that will make a difference in your insurance premium.

Speaker: Mike Russell, Federated Insurance

Ethics 101: Running an Ethical Woodworking Business 3 - 4:30 pm

Ethical business practices are an important part of any organization that intends to be successful. Clients will continue to patronize businesses that set high moral standards, and vendors will do anything they can to help a business that treats them well to prosper and grow. In this session, we’ll take a look at the fundamentals of ethical business practices. You will:

• Understand ethical practices in dealing with contracts, time commitments, collections, follow-ups, and product warranties or guarantees.

• Understand how to deal with competition, vendors, what to expect from them, and how to treat them in return.

• Be better able to incorporate ethical business standards into all your daily business operations.

Speaker: Joe Knobbe, Project Manager: Exclusive Woodworking

Automating Your Shop: What Comes First? (CMA CEU)* 9 - 10:30 AM

Automation can be the next step a shop needs to make to increase productivity and profit, reduce costly mistakes, create efficiencies and broaden one’s market. Learn how to gauge if investing in a CNC Router is the right decision for you and your shop’s current level of activity.

Kevin Ward discusses the types of automation, necessary machinery and software, as well as preparing personnel for the technology. He will discuss how to set up a shop floor plan for new machines taking into account space, power and material handling, and how software can speed up and simplify the drawing and estimating processes.

Presenters: Kevin Ward, A Ward Design and CMA

Moving From Residential to Commercial Woodwork (CMA CEU)* 1- 2:30 pm

This seminar is for cabinetmakers and woodworkers whose primary focus has been in residential work, and who are contemplating changing their business focus to commercial work, or who have already begun making the change and are running into problems or questions.

Rick Thaler will cover the definition of commercial work, the differences between types of commercial work, how to find and develop a commercial clientele, how to look at commercial contracts, how to estimate and project manage commercial work, along with tips and red flags as the woodworker gets further into the commercial arena. Financing, bank relationships, billing and collections will be discussed as well.

Presenter: Rick Thaler, President: OGB Architectural Millwork, on behalf of Cabinet Makers Association

Working With Designers and Architects (CMA CEU)* 1 - 2:30 pm

How to develop, retain and strengthen working relationships with Design Professionals, determining which of these individuals are good fits and determining which ones are not. Developing longterm professional relationships with architects and designers can strengthen your business and business standing in the community.

Determining which design professionals fit your business model, nurturing them, training them and exceeding their expectations should be the goal of your business — all while remaining profitable. Presenter: Joe Knobbe, Cabinet Makers Association

What’s Your Problem? Networking Event 4:30 pm

Cabinet Makers Association presents, the “What’s Your Problem?” event, an informal networking and problem-solving get-together and reception with peers. Ending time is open-ended.

FRiDAY, AUgUSt 24th Simple Numbers, Straight talk, Big Profits! 9 - 10:30 am

Greg Crabtree is a longtime member of Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) Atlanta and a former member of the EO Global Board of Directors. He is not your usual CPA, but rather a true entrepreneur who understands our world and has developed a curriculum of operating principles that can help take your business to the next level and unlock its true potential. Subjects covered:

• How games with owner’s compensation skews shop data.

• Profit matters more: why 10% margin is the new breakeven.

• 4 forces of cash flow.

• Case studies on success, lessons from failures.

• Tuning your business engine — maximize labor efficiency.

• Avoiding the April 15th surprise: tax management that works.

• Economic Value — what is your business really worth?

* SPECIAL NOTE. Time only allows for the first half of this session. The second half will be presented during a live webinar later in 2012.

Speaker: Greg Crabtree, CEO, Crabtree, Rowe & Berger

Lean Manufacturing and the Theory of Constraints (CMA CEU)* 9 - 10:30 am

Lean Manufacturing and Theory of Constraints have been topics of discussion and debate for some time. Bob Buckley will illustrate how he has applied the principles of both systems to his kitchen, bath and entertainment cabinetry manufacturing operation.

The origins of each system will be covered briefly, and then on to the implications and advantages of utilizing these two systems together in any size manufacturing environment. Using real life examples, attendees will leave with workable concepts that capitalize on the synergy gained by using these two manufacturing systems when applied appropriately to their manufacturing plants.

Speaker: Bob Buckley, True 32 and Cabinet Makers Association

Wood 101: Basic Wood Properties, Sawing, Shaping, Gluing, Fastening 12:30 - 2 pm

What a manager needs to know about the affects of species, sawing, drying and moisture on yield, gluing, machining and overall manufacturing. Wood is a complex, variable material. Yet its behavior is predictable. Oftentimes, the difficulties and expensive problems we have with wood during and after manufacturing are a result of what someone else has done to the wood. Learn to identify wood gluing and machining issues and how they related to previous processing and practical management steps to prevent problems.

Speaker: Gene Wengert, President: The Wood Doctor’s Rx, LLC

Cost/Benefit Analysis Systems for Major Business Investments 3:00 - 4:30 pm

You are considering making a major investment in your business that would have a significant impact on your future. It could be new equipment purchase or lease, a major sales and marketing campaign, or involve new processes or new employees, and you want to be as sure of the outcome as possible BEFORE you commit yourself, your time and your money. Making the right move at the right time with the right resources is critical to your future success.This session will outline and detail how to:

• Indentify the fixed factors and variables in your investment

• Understand the Cost/Payback cycle

• Lay out the “What if...” scenarios in a best to worst case order

• Find the tipping points and develop a safety valve in case you discover you’ve made the wrong move.

Comparing competing systems using impartial, pragmatic methodologies will lead you to the correct decision. This session will share several time tested ways you can use to make the right move at the right time.

Speakers:

• Joe Knobbe, Project Manager: Exclusive Woodworking, Inc.

• Sean Benetin, President: Millwork & More, LLC

CMA On the Road

The Cabinet Makers Association members gather for regional events around the country, talking technique, technology, and business. CMA member Kevin Ward (r) recently hosted fellow CMA members at his shop, A-Ward Design, in Winter Haven, FL. CMA member Leland Thomasset hosted CMA members at his highly automated Taghkanic Woodworking in Pawling, NY. sharing his expertise woodworking technology.

Register Online For CMA Sessions

Registration is open for the Cabinet Makers Association Professional Certification Program classes and CEU sessions at the IWF Atlanta website. The CMA cabinet class descriptions and full details about the CMA sessions, as well as the other educational sessions at IWF, are detailed there.

There are three live CMA curriculum classes each day (Wednesday through Friday, August 22-24) containing the materials on which CMA will base testing for those who are seeking a CMA certification. There are also four CEU sessions held at various days and time throughout the show.

Register at: www.iwfatlanta.com/education/CMASessions

CMA IWF Course Fees

CMA Certification Sessions

Register Before July 27, 2012:

CMA Members ..........................................................$55.00

Non-Members ...........................................................$75.00

Register After July 27, 2012:

Members ..................................................................$65.00

CMA Non-Members ..................................................$85.00

CMA CEu Continuing Education Credits Session

Register Before July 27, 2012: ..................................$45.00

Register After July 27, 2012: .....................................$55.00

Sessions listed with class names/numbers fulfill CMA Professional

Certification requirements. Applicants and certified CMA professionals are

required to earn 4.0 CEUs per year to maintain their professional designations.

Register at iwfatlanta.com/education/CMASessions