What’s that old saying? “Misery loves company.” There is certainly a lot of forecasts, comments and indications that window business has slowed down compared to the start of the year. I heard a comment from someone recently that said, “The first part of the year was just a tease.”

I will say this is certainly shaping up to be an entertaining year. We started 2011 with so much optimism, and then last week, the Dow Jones average had its largest drop since June 4th of last year. It seems hard to believe that one bad day in the stock market has the potential to take the steam out of what still can be a very good year.

From being in the window industry for 20 years, I have found window dealers, distributors and manufacturers to be some of the most creative and innovative people and businesses I have ever had the pleasure of being around. Many of you are focusing your efforts on re-tooling your business whether it be through internal systems, the way you market, and even the way you sell.

Let’s face it–we are an industry where the only thing that is constant is change! When financing became almost impossible to get, we adapted. Remodeling companies started taking smaller jobs—three or four window jobs in the hopes of earning more business later. When the .30/.30 tax credit came out, many manufacturers quickly raced to ensure all their products met the ratings. And even with the LRRP lead safe practices, as costly and challenging as it has become, we, as manufacturers and home improvement companies, are adapting.

As I said, change is the constant for us. There are lots of outlets available that will tell you how bad the economy is or how bad sales are going to be. But those outlets don’t pay our bills. It’s the innovators that see past the challenges and create opportunity for themselves. Which one are you?