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SEARCHThis issue will hit the streets on the first day of the Midwest Beauty Show, smack in the middle of a very busy show season for salon industry professionals. It seems the perfect opportunity to encourage nail technicians to get to tradeshows.
This issue will hit the streets on the first day of the Midwest Beauty Show, smack in the middle of a very busy show season for salon industry professionals. It seems the perfect opportunity to encourage nail technicians to get to tradeshows.
Although I've heard a lot of complaints from both attendees and exhibitors about tradeshows (“There are too many,” “There aren't enough in my area,” “They're flea markets,” “They're too expensive”), there is still much to be gained by getting out to a show. It's your chance to get, as they say in the Olympic telecasts, “up close and personal.”
Where else but at an industry tradeshow can you walk light up to the owner of a big nail company and ask her (or him) about the company's products? “Where else can you pigeonhole a manufacture’s educator and tell her why you don't like a product? Where else can you get a hands-on demonstration of hundreds of different products all within a day or two? Where else can you attend four or five classes under one roof, taught by some of the most knowledgeable people in the nail industry?
When I go to shows I usually spend the flight home furiously scribbling notes about what I've learned. I bring home (besides dirty laundry and blisters on my feet) loads of story ideas, a handful of business cards of technicians I've met whom I can contact for articles, a stack of literature on new products, and most important, a keener understanding of what the readers of NAILS are looking for.
Getting to a major tradeshow can be a costly venture for technicians. Besides what it costs to drive or fly there and for a hotel, you've got parking, meals, admittance tickets, and hopefully a little money left to buy products, so you've got to plan well to get the most out of a show.
Plan ahead and purchase advance-sale tickets, which are usually less expensive. If you can attend for two days, buy a two-day pass. Get to the show early and stay late; you aren't going to learn much by just dropping in. Schedule time for both classes and floor time. Wear comfortable shoes and nothing on your nails (you want to be able to try new products on your own nails). Bring a stack of your business cards and vow to go home with an equal number collected from other technicians and manufacturers.
And, finally, stop by the NAILS Magazine booth and tell me what you think of the magazine and what more we can do to help you run your business better and to help you perfect your craft.
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