Pickens

Many business owners believe that trade shows and expos are the best way to promote and grow their business. But are they?

Trade show exhibits are expensive with costs for hiring the trade show booth, trade show display stands, staff costs, marketing materials, transport costs, accommodation and meals if you're away from home and there's always other costs that you just didn't see coming.

So you need to set out what the end results you want from the trade show to be - how much money do you want to make, how many new spending customers do you want, how many warm leads do you want from the show and what size customer list do you want? What can your business afford and what are the smartest ways to achieve your goals?

I learned my lessons very early on with an expensive show that everything went wrong. Customers didn't turn up, the show was a fizzer and I was out of pocket many thousands of dollars and none of my expo goals were achieved.

I could still see the upside of a good expo but I wanted to reduce my risks and to do this I needed to research and explore more.

I started researching the local wholesale trade show and went along to see what's involved, got talking to exhibitors about what they like and dislike about the show, saw who was the competition - what they sold, how they managed customers, what business systems they had and what was their approach to customer service.

I came out of it thinking it was an expensive project and determined to figure out how to get the benefits of their customers without the cost. So I started looking at the who, what and how of the trade show - who ran the show, how did people get to exhibit there, how was it setup?

The trade show is run by an industry association with exhibitors being wholesale members and visitors being retail owners members.

As a wholesale member you have access to the retail members' database and they have access to the wholesale members' database - all part of the benefits of being part of your industry association.

The wholesale membership costs less than 10% of the expense of hiring a small space at the trade show - so a saving of 90% with access to the retailer membership contact details. This database lets you directly market to the expo visitors so you can build a relationship with them. Without even spending money on an expo you can make sales from the visitors. You can also send them invitations to special event viewings and when you're ready to do expos you can invite them to your stand.

Having customers come to the expo knowing who you are, that you're going to be there and expecting to place orders with you is much better than starting from a cold start where no-one knows you and no-one has plans to spend money with you.

Seeing all this was like a light bulb turning on - I could get the advantages of an expo without the expense of doing an expo! Simply by being creative and smart with my marketing. Given that most of the other exhibitors weren't taking advantage of internet marketing or even having regular contact with customers it was going to be much easier to stand out from the crowd and be successful.

So you can avoid the costs of the trade show display rentals, the trade show display booth costs, trade show giveaways, promotions and display products costs and trade show booth design fees simply by exploring and asking questions about how things work and how to get them working best for you.

Expos can be really expensive for small and growing businesses so you need to make the most of the opportunity and expect there'll be extra costs you just didn't see coming. Finding a way to benefit from an expo without big costs comes down to a bit of lateral thinking and being prepared to make it happen.

Belinda Stinson is the designer and owner of http://CreativelyBelle.com - a popular and successful jewelry and jewelry display stand gift idea resource. Belinda also offers a range of business articles online published in the monthly email newsletter to help other businesses success.

Find out more about building a prosperous business with Belinda's free resources at http://CreativelyBelle.com/business

Of course if you want to do a bit of online sale shopping for great gift ideas visit http://CreativelyBelle.com/sale for earring holders, beaded necklaces, freshwater pearl earrings and more.

(c) Copyright - Belinda Stinson. All Rights Reserved Worldwide.

# posted by sochalzqzsuh : 10:31 PM  0 comments

Quark Soup is a cryptic collection of alluring poetry that provides fodder for deep introspection, while personifying planets and attributing humans with celestial properties. The subjects of childbirth and supernovas are cleverly interwoven, often cloaking the authors intent. In great mystery, cosmic wonders flow within love and relationships, titillating the readers imagination.

Examine this segment from Coil of Life:

Hurling matter in all directions,
the particles of the embryonic universe
rush away from each other.
In the beginning there was nothing
but plasma soup. Less than a second later
pure energy became
a slippery birth cry still measurable
fifteen billion years later
in the decaying echoes of space.

***

Is the author referring to the birth of a child, or a universe?

In this excerpt from Aurora, Ms. Ball appears to be pleading with a cold-hearted scientist who has lost the capacity to perceive beauty and perhaps also the ability to show affection. Her earnest entreaty follows.

***

If I could capture that spectrum
the atomic neon sign of your lost wonder
and feed it to you on a spoon
when your lonely vigil against
poverty and incompetence
becomes ball and chain
Id give up my own food
stand with my back to the solar wind
close my eyes to beauty
to keep you warm.

Id be your personal aurora
your talisman against the dark lure of ennui
an electrical current charging
your ionosphere.

***

Science and passion fold together in masterful imagery as love, loss, and motherhood slip in and out of the image streams captured by Ms. Ball.

The subject of loss is tackled in several pieces, most particularly in Green, which addresses the loss of a mother to cancer. Examine this excerpt:

my fingers worked independent
from intent
tracing the landscape of her arched back
as she bent over her porcelain taskmaster
begging the drugs which she couldnt swallow
to kill the disease
indistinguishable from her own cells

***

Honest emotion covers themes like lonely childhood, the perfect universe, an impersonal lover, and the infinite joy of parenthood. With skillful word tapestries, the poems are infused with the wisdom of deep thought and experience, a rare commodity in such a young author. The collection is highly recommended, and will be treasured on this reviewers bookshelf.

Aaron Paul Lazar resides in Upstate New York with his wife, three daughters, two grandsons, mother-in-law, two dogs, and four cats. After writing in the early morning hours, he works as an electrophotographic engineer at Kodak, in Rochester, New York.

Double Fort is the founding book of the LeGarde Mystery series and was released in January, 2005. Upstaged, the second, was released in October, 2005. His third, Tremolo: cry of the loon, was released via Twilight Times Books under the Paladin Timeless Imprint in fall, 2006. The first book in his second series, Moore Mysteries, will be released later in 2007. Mr. Lazar is currently working on his eleventh book, Lady Blues. He is a regular columnist for FMAM (Futures Mystery Anthology Magazine) and The Back Room, A Cozy Retreat for Writers and Readers, and has been published often in the Absolute Write Newsletter. Contact him at: Aaron.Lazar@yahoo.com, visit his blog at http://www.aaronlazar.blogspot.com, or stop by his website at http://www.legardemysteries.com

# posted by sochalzqzsuh : 5:04 PM  0 comments

Water is the element of feelings, of compassion, of sensitivity, and Cancer, Scorpio and Pisces are ruled by water.

Water children are the most sensitive and emotional of all signs, they are able to capture, by their subtle understanding, what is going on ,both, in a person and in a situation. Water children can have x-ray perception, especially when the planets Pluto and Neptune (related to water) are close to the rising sign.

Because of this natural sympathy with another person, water children strongly need, more than any others, to be surrounded by gentle and positive people.

Relationships, turn out, easily for them, but this can have a down-side, water children can take on other's personal baggage and can absorb more than they can digest. These relationships are built on feelings rather than other qualities.

When water children misbehave parents should pay more attention to reassuring their children after an argument or storm, rather than reiterating the disciplinary point. Water children immediately sense when you are angry with them, therefore there is no need to overemphasise the point. Overwhelmed, they can overreact strongly when they are emotionally flooded by their moods. Give them time and space -- let them sort out a solution to the problem. Beware, any attack to them, is an attack to their emotional security.

Parents should be very supportive during their child's development because the water element is very much connected with the past. With the water child first impressions count more than for other elements. Therefore an infant's impressions will affect the rest of his or her life.

The generation with Pluto in Scorpio (1982-1995), marked by this water-combination, are in their 20s, right now. We can sense that they are able to cope with the violence in the society, but this can leave profound scars within.

Water is the inclusive element, it is compassionate, selfless, tending to serve others. Is the element which can bring regeneration, bring transformation, caring, and nurturing. Water children will express these qualities, if they are allowed to grow strong in early childhood.

Leni provides a large variety of astrological services, workshops, readings and is an accomplished lecturer and writer, in both English and Italian. She has appear on television and radio, and is much in demand for the both traditional and soul centered astrology.

Leni Sibilio
http://.astrominds.com
leni@astrominds.com

Leni provides a large variety of astrological services, workshops, readings and is an accomplished lecturer and writer, in both English and Italian. She has appear on television and radio, and is much in demand for the both traditional and soul centered astrology.

Leni Sibilio
http://www.astrominds.com
leni@astrominds.com

# posted by sochalzqzsuh : 11:48 AM  0 comments

If you're interested in finding a partner, you may have thought about speed dating, but were hesitant about trying it.

If you're familiar with the concept, you will know that an important element is to prepare yourself with the best speed dating questions to ask.

However, if you're unfamiliar with the concept of speed dating, here is a brief outline of the process. A group, usually singles, meet together in a hosted venue. Although initially designed to enable people to meet others of the opposite sex, there are gay speed dating events available.

The basic idea is that each person has a short time to converse with each of the other attendees of the opposite sex (or same at a gay event). The time can be as short as one minute and as long as ten minutes. An average of these events is about three to five minutes. During the time you spend with each person, you ask questions of each other trying to see if there is any 'chemistry' between you.

As you move from person to person, you make notes or have some other way in which to record your initial impressions of the people you've met. At the end of the speed dating event, there is usually time for socialising and to get to know the other attendees better.

It is important that you don't 'clam up' and fail to make the most of the opportunity. As the saying goes, "You never have a second chance to make a good first impression."

One of the ways you can help yourself is to prepare your questions in advance. There are several ways in which you can research this requirement. The internet is a good starting point. Searching on Google for - speed dating questions to ask - will unearth websites which provide useful ideas in helping you to generate a questions list.

What you need to avoid are questions which are too intrusive or indeed simply rude. Remember, you have only met this person for a few minutes. The best type of question to use are called open questions. By this we mean questions which start with what, where, why and how. These type of questions cannot be answered with a simple yes or no. They encourage the person to open up in their answer.

Conversely, closed questions allow the questionee to answer with a yes or no. Closed questions start with words like do you, can you and will you.

So, when working on your speed dating questions to ask, do some homework, follow these simple rules and the person of your dreams might reveal themselves to you.

About the Author

Brian McGregor is an experienced personal adviser and speed dating advocate. For details of speed dating questions to ask, you'd be mad to try speed dating without reading Brian's 'A Guide to Speed Dating'. It's available free from http://www.wizobizo.com/xfactor/speeddatingguide.htm

# posted by sochalzqzsuh : 6:10 AM  0 comments