So a new year is upon us.  It’s been my experience that our year begins in earnest around January 15th.  Many in our industry, which includes suppliers and referral sources, are still away on vacation and it usually takes until the 15th of January to get everyone back into work mode.  So the reality is that January is always sluggish as it relates to volumes.  Every year I say the same thing to myself at the end of January, “we got some ground to make up”. This year will be no different.

But  it’s interesting what a difference a year makes.  In November of 2010, it was clear to me that 2011 was going to be a challenging year for Merix.  I knew  then that there would be periods during 2011 when we would have to sit on the sidelines and watch volumes go to our competition.  There’s a myriad of reasons why, and I won’t bore you with the details, but even though I could rationalize why it was going to happen it didn’t make it any easier to deal with the reality of it happening.  We love a good fight at Merix, and we’re all uber competitive, but it makes for an interesting fight going to a gun fight with a spoon.  We took our lumps in the first half of 2011.  A little battered and bruised but we tended to our wounds and finished strong in the second half of the year.  So much so that we were two million short of setting a record for funding for the month of December.   It was a great way to finish the year and it certainly got the competitive juices flowing as we head towards 2012.  My thoughts about 2012 is a complete 180 as compared to how I viewed 2011.

I can’t wait to get into the thick of things in 2012.  Our approach to business in 2011 was defensive and somewhat passive.  Not this year.  None of us  know with any certainty what will happen in Europe.  We guessing and crystal balling as to what the Canadian government  may or may not do as it relates to changing mortgage rules.   We might as well flip a coin when it comes to the US, heads for solvency and tails for bankruptcy.  These are real issues that we’ll all have to keep an eye on but none of these issues are within in our control.  Not much we can do but to respond accordingly.  One thing we have complete control over is not allowing paralysis to set it.  Fear of the unknown has a way of doing that.

Until next time,

Cheers.