Page 42 - CMA PROfiles Winter 2018

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE

From our humble beginnings on a (Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Statistics
cold winter night in 1998, the CMA of U.S. Businesses)
has grown to include hundreds of
small- to medium-sized cabinet Twenty years ago, it was clear
shops, millworkers and furniture that smaller shops needed a voice.
makers, as well as their distributors Today, because of the CMA, our
and suppliers throughout the USA members are being heard. They
and Canada. have an incredible amount of value
to add to the industry, and through
TWENTY YEARS. our organization, they have a forum
What was the historical context for for sharing that knowledge. We
the decision by a group of custom hear from our members regu-
cabinet makers who thought our larly that the combined expertise
industry needed a group for the Admittedly, the CMA did have of our nationwide network of
small- to mid-size shops to network professionals is powerful. We know
and help each other grow profitably? ‘founding fathers’ in that all of that collaboration, not competition,
Twenty years ago, Bill Clinton was them were men, and today the is the best way to improve our own
the U.S. President, and the nation industry is still predominant- individual companies, as well as the
learned the definition of sex during ly male. But did you know that industry as a whole.
the Monica Lewinsky scandal. The
last episode of Seinfeld on NBC aired the current CMA board has one But there’s a crucial step you have
with commercials priced at $2 million female member? Also if you’ve to take in order to take full advantage
for 30 seconds. Google.com was read the featured shops in PRO- of the CMA: Members love to offer
registered as a domain name. advice, but you have to ask. That is
files magazine lately, you know the best piece of advice I can give:
The founding fathers of the CMA that women are among the Ask questions. Ask more questions.
realized a need, and that need still Repeat. The answers you'll get may
exists today. It’s no secret that CMA leadership at a number of CMA not always be exactly what you’d
members are experts at their craft, member companies. expected or hoped for, but I can
but they are the first to admit that assure you it's the best way to gain
they need help with the business thousands of years of collective
side of owning their own company. insights from woodworkers all over
Running your own business requires North America. Feedback from
a complex skill set. other members has opened doors and helped many other shop
owners advance their businesses.
THE POWER OF SMALL.
The National Association for Manufacturers has reported And we all know that knowledge is power.
that the vast majority of manufacturing firms in the United
States are quite small. In 2014, there were 251,901 firms in
the manufacturing sector, with all but 3,749 firms considered Amanda Conger
to be small (i.e., having fewer than 500 employees). In fact, Executive Director
three-quarters of these firms have fewer than 20 employees. Cabinet Makers Association

40 PROFILES WINTER 2018