Small Business: The Power of Tradeshows

Small Business: The Power of Tradeshows Author: Eric Everson

The success of entrepreneurship is often achieved by getting your business or products in front of the right people at the right time. For most entrepreneurs that dilemma sounds simple enough to resolve until the rigorous reality of daily business begins to consume and otherwise capitalize your valuable time. Finding time for networking can quickly become a daunting task for even the most skillful business managers.

What many entrepreneurs find is that tradeshows offer exactly the opportunity for communicating their brand and connecting with “the right people” that they are looking for. Every industry has its share of tradeshows (conferences, expos, consortiums, etc), so the most important thing to consider is which one fits your business best.

Naturally some tradeshows carry greater overall industry visibility than others, but all too often paying for a pricey booth at a major tradeshow might not really be the best investment for your young business. Let’s say for example that you are a new entrant in the mobile industry looking to make some viable connections within the U.S. market. The biggest tradeshow in the mobile industry in the U.S. has become the CTIA Wireless show (web address below). The problem is that despite the high booth fee, you might still get stuck back in a low traffic corner with poor visibility for your brand. Instead of the mega show where your startup brand will be hard pressed to outshine the displays and events of the industry titans, you might consider a smaller show that caters toward the same industry segment but isn’t as notorious. For a young company in the wireless sector the Mobile Business Conference might be a better fit.

In essence this is the same thing celebrities consider when they decide which red carpet events that they want to attend. Some are interested in the A-List theatrics of the bigger shows while others prefer the more intimate gatherings of smaller shows. No matter whether you’re in the mobile business or show business, there is certain to be a tradeshow in your industry that fits the needs of your small business. A tradeshow can be a total waste of time and money if you chose the wrong venue, but likewise they can be an incredible vehicle for growth too! To borrow from that age-old adage, simply look before you leap.

Your go-to guy in innovative tech, - Eric E: aka The MobileTech

Here are the links as promised: CTIA: http://www.ctia.org/

Mobile Business Conference & Expo: http://www.mbconf.com/

Eric Everson is a leading mobile technologies researcher and is the founder of MyMobiSafe.com. If you would like to contact Eric Everson for interview or with research related inquiries contact him directly at EricEverson@Hotmail.com.