$450 in ADVANCE for SW User Conf/Exhibition?
Sporkman
Can't believe I ever actually even thought about going!!
But I'm glad to see Cholly Nachtman's name mentioned at the head of the
"Breakout Sessions".
doyle...@my-deja.com
Mr. Sporkman,
I wish you would reconsider attending the SolidWorks World Conference
even though you believe the price to be steep. When compared to other
"similar" events, $450.00 isn't really out-of-line.
Consider:
FabTech - A metalworking conference (Chicago '99)
one session - $295.00
all session - $845.00
Dallas '99 A manufacturing conference (Dallas)
one session - $805.00 (2 days)
Comdex '99 A computer conference (Las Vegas)
all session - %895.00 (2 day technical)
A/E/C Systems '99
all session - $595.00
I'm not trying to compare the SolidWorks World Conferecne with these
others, I'm simply pointing out the costs typically associated with
conferences of these types. It's up to each individual to calculate the
ROI when attending any conference at any price. My personal experience
of SolidWorks World '99 in Palm Springs was not only educational and
informative, but extremely entertaining (that's important to me,
anyway). SolidWorks puts on a great show, the food is excellent, the
Partner Pavillion (exhibitors) was small, but SolidWorks specific. And
above all, I was able to fill 2-1/2 days attending breakout sessions
presented in most cases by users like myself. Why, Phil Sluder's Tips 'n
Tricks session alone was worth the price of admission.
The call for papers deadline has passed for this year, but may I suggest
that next year you think about presenting at the conference. The
conference fee is waived for all presenters, and as a regular poster to
this forum, I know that you have valuable knowledge to share.
The SolidWorks World conference is a great way to meet and mingle with
users from around the world, in an atmosphere of support and cooperation
(gee, not unlike the theme of this forum :) ).
Sign up early! Hope to see you there.
Richard Doyle
DTM Corporation
doy...@dtm-corp.com
Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Before you buy.
Sporkman
still have an issue with SolidWorks charging this much. Doesn't seem to
me that they are trying to provide value to their users in a comparable
way. I've been able to get into any and every trade show/conference in
Atlanta that I ever wanted to (and some I didn't) for free. That
includes Comdex and many more specialized shows. All I've ever had to
show as credentials is some reasonable proof that the show's thrust is
relevant to my job functions, and many times not even that much.
doyle...@my-deja.com wrote:
> Mr. Sporkman,
> I wish you would reconsider attending the SolidWorks World Conference
> even though you believe the price to be steep. When compared to other
> "similar" events, $450.00 isn't really out-of-line.
> Consider:
>
> FabTech - A metalworking conference (Chicago '99)
> one session - $295.00
> all session - $845.00
>
> Dallas '99 A manufacturing conference (Dallas)
> one session - $805.00 (2 days)
>
> Comdex '99 A computer conference (Las Vegas)
> all session - %895.00 (2 day technical)
>
> A/E/C Systems '99
> all session - $595.00
. . . (big clip) . . .
Jay Guthrie
justification" plan to prove it's worth it. :(
I'll accept any ideas.
Jay
Trevor D'Arcy-Evans
>justification" plan to prove it's worth it. :(
check out new hardware & software products
get ideas, tips & tricks
meet other users, developers & vendors
networking
Kind regards
Trevor D'Arcy-Evans
trev...@DivingMagpie.com.au
http://www.DivingMagpie.com.au
- high quality addins for SolidWorks
mbia...@my-deja.com
"Jay Guthrie" <Jgut...@isd.net> wrote:
> I asked the boss if I could go. He say's I have to come up with
a "cost
> justification" plan to prove it's worth it. :(
>
How about training for one. You'll probably get more out of SW World
than you would out of your local VAR (no offense to
local VARs).
I'm going for the Jumbolia.
Sporkman
> How about training for one. You'll probably get more out of SW World
> than you would out of your local VAR (no offense to
> local VARs).
> I'm going for the Jumbolia.
You could easily be correct, but try telling that to most engineering
managers I've ever met and you'll get less than an enthusiastic
endorsement. You're asking them not only for $450, but also to do
without your presence at work for several days. You might get one or
the other, but in the most liberal atmosphere I've ever worked you
wouldn't get both -- and I've worked in more than just several places.
Most of the places I've been you wouldn't get either.
Jay Guthrie
My boss has an accounting background. Basically, what he is asking for me
to do is prove to him that our company will financially gain from me
attending the conference.
Jay
doyle...@my-deja.com
If you have to justify SolidWorks World attendance in terms of dollars,
I guess we won't be seeing you there. It's very hard to quantify to a
companies bottom line. Would your boss expect you to return from New
Orleans with your pockets lined with bills, or perhaps he expects to see
a general ledger entry like "$$ saved by attending SWW = $xxxx.xx".
Either way your hosed! But, what if you returned from SWW with some
tip that saved you just 1% of your time spent on creating or modifying a
drawing? (hmmm, 2080*1%=20.8@$30.00/hr=$624.00) What if you found a
Partner Product that could trim five days off of a 90 day project for a
customer? (let's see..$20,000 project/90=222.22*5=$1,111.11, roll in the
cost of the solution, ooh..) Of course, these are my numbers, not
yours (heck, you might be worth more than $30.00/hr), but with over 55
different breakout sessions available, not to mention the opportunity to
sit one-on-one with SolidWorks technical staff members, certainly you
can see the chance to find that 1%, maybe even 2% improvement in
productivity. Ask your boss how that would affect the company's
financials.
If that's not enough to convince him/her, how about a chance to meet
face-to-face with some of the leading experts in the
SolidWorks/Mechanical Design industry? One of last years highlights for
me was talking with Bob Noftle of Cimlogic, not only about his Toolbox
product, but the state of the mechanical design industry and the shape
of things to come. Trevor, Cholly, Michelle, Greg, and Phil; one word
names that everyone recognizes (sorta the Supermodels of SolidWorks),
they'll all be there. Some will be presenting, some will be there
for the same reason that you should be, to share information and to
learn all that they can about our little world.
Jay, if you still have to spit out a spreadsheet with lots of black
numbers and dollar signs, I'll look forward to meeting you some other
time. But if you can convince your boss that continued employee
education, peer networking, product research, and maybe a little moral
booster are worth $450.00, I'll buy you a beer on Bourbon Street!
Only 28 days left to take advantage of the low-low early bird rate. Sign
up now!
Richard Doyle
DTM Corporation
In article <s1psrg...@corp.supernews.com>,
Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Before you buy.
Jay Guthrie
Thanks for your response. You have given me a little broader perspective on
how I can attempt to convince him. I can also take your numbers and times
them by the number seats we have (7) and the numbers get better.
Maybe I will see you for that beer after all.
Jay Guthrie
Ternes Register System
doyle...@my-deja.com wrote in message <7vn6l4$747$1...@nnrp1.deja.com>...
Jim Peter
> My boss has an accounting background. Basically, what he is asking
for me
> to do is prove to him that our company will financially gain from me
> attending the conference.
>
> Jay
>
>
I went to SolidWorks world last year where I stopped at the NIKA booth
to look at their FloWorks product. Looked good so I signed our company
up for their beta testing program. Being a beta tester we were able to
purchase the software at 1/2 price when it was released. Savings to the
company = $3,500. Not bad for 2-1/2 days of work in Palm Springs.
--
Jim Peter
Johnson Corporation
Jkreutzb
I was still struggling with the transition from Cadkey at the time. The info. I
gained from the technical sessions, presenters and just plain interaction with
my peers really showed up in my work when I got back to the office. Just the
jump-start I needed.
My wife really enjoyed the trip to Palm Springs as well, and is looking forward
to New Orleans even more. I was considering skipping this one, but she wouldn't
hear of it. How's that for support from the boss?
jk
J K Mold Design
Sacramento, Ca