Genre: Promotion

While a great idea is a reward in and of itself , the NATSO Foundation is going to award $ 500 to the truckstop or travel plaza operator that shares the best great idea during the Great Ideas ! for Independent Operators Session at The NATSO Show 2014 . Tom Heinz , chairman of The NATSO Foundation and president of Coffee Cup Fuel Stop , said he hopes the award will add energy to the already exciting event and also encourage operators to think through their best ideas ahead of time . " Best ideas are often not immediately quantifiable or are impossible for operators to measure , so they may not realize just how great they are until they take time to think them through , " he said . " We want operators or their staff to think about successful things they 're doing and come prepared to share for a chance to win . " The Great Ideas ! for Independent Operators Session has been designed with independent owners and operators in mind and serves as an interactive platform where operators join together to collaborate and uncover new solutions and business opportunities that can improve their operations . " Most great ideas take a long time to evolve and they often need to collide with other ideas , which is why the Great Ideas ! Session is the perfect venue for those in the travel plaza industry to find their next best practice , " Heinz said . " There are all kinds of little , doable things in our operations that could be made a little bit better , which will make the customers' experiences better , " Heinz said . " This session encourages all of us to think through every experience a customer goes through and ways in which we can make it better . Being able to bounce those ideas off of each other is invaluable . " Paragon Solutions , Fort Worth , Texas , is more than a retail design firm . Sure , they can design and develop a travel plaza from a bare piece of ground all the way to completion , but they can also help operators re-make certain sections of their stores , renovate to boost energy efficiency and create a solid brand . " We can go in and develop an over reaching brand for the entire facility or branding for specific areas of the store , " said Michael Lawshe , president of Paragon Solutions . Branding can be key for the nation's truckstop and travel plaza operators , but all too often business owners get complacent with the messages their sending customers . " Sometimes they 're still doing the same thing they did last year , five years ago or ten years ago . Our customers are changing and we have to change with them , " Lawshe said . " We get so consumed with our day-to-day operational challenges , that we do n't think big picture . " Lawshe said that often times , operators avoid addressing their brand simply because they do n't know what to do . To help them get past that , Lawshe is going to sit down with operators face-to-face at The Human Library at The NATSO Show 2014 . Lawshe said he is looking forward to talking with operators about branding , ways to boost energy efficiency or ways to improve the design in specific areas of the location . " We can look over the design in any profit center – whether it is the layout of the overall design or refreshing the restaurant , " he said . Operators planning to meet with Lawshe should bring photos of the areas they plan to discuss , a copy of their overall layout design and financial statement . " A financial statement is like acres of diamonds . You can dig into it and analyze it . Then you combine that information with the physical plant to analyze the issue , " he said . Preparing to be away from work for two-and-a-half days is no small feat . To help operators prepare , we rounded up some of the best advice on the web on how to prepare to be out of the office . 6 Simple Steps To Master Productivity On The Road Breanna Wilson asserts in a recent Fast Company article that staying productive when you 're on the road is easier than you think when you follow her simple rules of thumb . For example , she encourages business travelers to use Google Drive and other cloud-technologies such as Dropbox to store files that you need easy access to . " Save yourself time and energy by eliminating the fear of forgetting or losing crucial files when you 're on the road , " she writes . Plan for Out of Office Time Alyssa Gregory offers tips on how to plan for out of office time on About.com ' s Small Business Information . She says , " In the weeks leading up to the event , start getting work done ahead of time so it 's easier to disconnect for a day or two . If there are times during the conference you know you will need to be working , plan for them in advance and work them into your personal conference schedule . " She also encourages readers to assign an employee to be responsible while you are out . Subordinates Can Step Up Afraid to let go of the reins while you are away ? Perhaps this tip from Monster Career Advice will help calm your nerves . " Remember the first time you had to make a decision while your boss was away ? Without your boss as a safety net , you experienced more growth than you would have otherwise . Whether you have direct reports or are part of a cross-functional effort , you give others the opportunity to take the reins if you do n't work while you 're on vacation . This hands-off approach benefits everyone . " For truckstop and travel plaza operators , theft within their locations is inevitable . Even worse , the greatest losses come from employees and vendors . However , Darren Schulte , NATSO's vice president of membership , said operators can take steps to minimize theft and prevent losses . Schulte shared his insights on shrink loss prevention at The NATSO Show in Savannah , Ga. Schulte advised operators to pay attention to their employees and address even the smallest theft , such as an employee who takes a drink or snack without paying . Inventory audits and cash audits can also help prevent losses , Schulte said . He recommends operators and managers show up unannounced , pull the till , count it and make sure it balances . Employers should also watch for void or no-sale rings on the cash register . " When you see that , there is a good chance that money is coming out and not going in , " Schulte said . Retailers can also invest in systems that will send real-time information on no-sales so managers can visit the sales floor to see what is going on . If an inventory or cash audit reveals a problem , Schulte said operators and managers should address the situation directly with employees through interviews . " Sit down with each employee and ask them questions . Are you aware of our shrink ? Have you seen anything ? Give them an opportunity to share to you what they 've seen . You 'll be surprised at what you 'll learn and how much better your operations will run , " Schulte said . " This is your store and your money , you have to figure out what happened . " To prevent vendor loss , Schulte suggests managers be present when vendors check in , only allow one vendor at a time on the sales floor and review invoices carefully , especially those that have high returns . Managers should also look at the inventory as it comes in . " Open up the boxes and look in each one . The smartest thing that beer vendor will do is take one quart out of each case , make their own case and glue up the box . Your vendors stock most of your coolers , so you 're never going to know , " he said . In addition , retailers should not allow vendors to count the product themselves during the check-in process and never allow products to be counted in multiples , and vendors should flatten their boxes before they leave .