Exhibit Studio Blog

While we know it is possible to produce a fantastic show-stopping trade show display under tight timelines, we want to ensure that your project receives ample time and attention. Otherwise, it leaves little room for changes, costs more, creates a risk of errors or missed deadlines, and can create scheduling issues. Here are a few pointers that will help you manage your design timelines. 

In part 1 of my "Email Overload" blog, we discussed why too many emails create extra stress and how to alleviate that while keeping your emails organized. I promised a follow-up blog post on another critical element to removing email stress from your life: you need to change the way you think about and respond to emails.

There are usually two options when you ship your display to a tradeshow. You can send your booth to "Advanced Warehousing" or to "Show Site." Clients often ask us the difference and why we would choose one over the other.

Option #1 is to ship to a warehouse operated by the official show carrier located near the show. This means you have to ship the display to their warehouse at least a few weeks in advance of the trade show move-in date. They usually start accepting shipments 30 days in advance up until about a week before the show move in.

When Amy asked me to write a blog post for this newsletter, I had several ideas. I was happy to contribute to our newsletter but kept finding myself short on time to actually sit down and start writing. Finally, after weeks of "gentle" reminders from Amy, I said okay, "At 3 pm today, I will stop everything I am doing and focus on writing my much-anticipated blog post!" Time ticks away, and WOW, how did it get to be 4:45 pm! What have I been doing? I realized that I had been sucked in again by email. I literally can't help myself when I hear the annoying "ding" that signals you have a new email. 

When clients consider which type of display suits their needs best, the discussion of portable vs. modular often comes up. The word "modular" is often used in the trade show industry, but many newbies don't exactly understand what that means regarding an exhibit.

There is often confusion about how these two types of displays vary from one another. I understand the confusion because they have a few similarities compared to traditional custom-built displays.

Let's talk wall finishings. Wallpaper dates back to the early 16th century and gained momentum throughout the victorian era in English churches and castles. I have vivid memories of wallpaper in the many old English Castles I visited as a child. There were ornate, vibrant colours that decorated every room, hallway and even adorned the smallest of bathrooms.

Towards the end of October, David and I were having lunch together. He casually mentioned that it might be cheaper to buy a 3D printer to create some connectors he needed for the ATCO Christmas Light activation than purchasing and shipping them in. As I begin running the costs through my brain, I say, "Interesting, maybe that would be a good idea."

Fast forward one week. I walked into the office and came face to face with a weird-looking contraption creating a solid object that reminded me of something I would have seen on The Jetsons cartoon show I watched as a child. 

There is the old saying that people do business with people they know, like, and trust. I continue to believe this to be true. When I reflect on my own business and personal life, I always feel a deeper connection and comfort level with someone I have met in person or spoken to over the phone.I started in business over 20 years ago, and a fundamental component of building a business relationship was through in-person meetings. Whether at conferences, trade shows, or lunch meetings, meeting in-person played a vital role in creating and maintaining healthy, long-term partnerships.

Shipping containers are traditionally known as a transport unit for moving products and materials from A to B. You will see them shipped by truck, rail, and sea. There are over seventeen million containers globally, and most of the world's international trade is transported in shipping containers. Here is where things get interesting; several million of these used shipping containers are abandoned due to the cost of sending them back to where they came from. 

So what can we do with them now? In the past few years, there has been a movement of homeowners choosing to convert discarded freight containers into their very own "Tiny Home." From that starting point, shipping containers have pivoted easily into other residential, commercial, and industrial industries.

When I was younger, my mother often told me that money didn't grow on trees. At the time, it was an easy visual for my nine-year-old self to understand. As I got older, I rolled my eyes. Now, as the owner of a growing business, I wish that money trees were real!

One of the biggest challenges for any business is financial management. Cash, borrowing, and efficient resource management impact our businesses every day. If you've decided to commit to trade shows, how can you make it work with so many demands for your cash? Leasing may be your answer.