Your Trade Show Checklist

The trade show season will be upon us before you know it. While trade shows play a most important part in the success of your business, they sometimes can create a certain level of stress if not well organized. The couple of weeks prior to the show are especially crucial with details such as packing, shipping, and making sure that everything is in place. The following is a quick checklist to help in the preparation for a successful and almost stress free trade show:

Trade show checklist:

Booth supplies:
• Display, lighting, literature stand, carpet
• Business cards (bring double the amount you think you will need)
• Company brochures, literature
• Sample product(s)
• Promotional items
• Pens, calendar, notepads, similar supplies

Personal:
• Professional attire
• Comfortable shoes
• Schedule, itinerary
• Phone, laptop, camera
• Tickets, confirmations
• Aspirin
• Mints
• Tissues
• Small first aid kit
• Antibacterial hand cleaner
• Credit cards, checks

Make sure everything else is in place:
• Confirmations (transportation, hotel rooms, booth space reservation, booth materials and display have arrived, etc.)
• Follow-up packets (electronic or snail mail) should be all set and ready to be sent out the day you return
• Trained staff that is aware of goals, expectations, schedule, dress code, and individual roles, as well as important company/product information
• Pre-show marketing should be at its peak

Let workers stay home!

Recently both houses of Congress passed bills that tighten the requirements for federal agencies on telework, which will actually encourage having stay-at-home workers. A study done by the Telework Research Network provides evidence that all businesses (not just federal, but small and medium-sized businesses, too) benefit from letting employees work from home. The study found that a business with 100 workers could save $1.1 million annually if they let them work from home just 50% of the time. Also, workers are significantly more productive working from their home (a 27% increase!). And it doesn’t end there—employers would even see reduced absenteeism, reduced costs for renting office space, and happier, healthier, less-stressed workers.

To see all of the benefits of telework:

http://undress4success.com/telecommuting-makes-cents-2/

Why you should hire an intern

Because we have been so successful in hiring interns for our business and several of our clients have expressed interest in learning more about interns, we wanted to share the following:

Every employer knows how difficult hiring a new employee can be. The process can take months and in the end result in no good prospects or perhaps a new hire that just does not fit the position or the company. A better approach might be to hire an intern as a low-risk investment in finding a great new employee.

Sure, you have to train interns and they don’t have much—if any—real job experience, but after the internship is completed you can count on them being much more qualified than outside applicants. View the internship process as an extended interview, a preview of how the individual would work as a full-time employee within your company. Young workers are enthusiastic, highly motivated, and always looking to learn. If you respect and encourage your intern, he or she will provide you with fresh ideas, a new outlook, and possible increased productivity.

Seems like an easy enough option; hire an intern and your problems will be solved. Not so fast. There are requirements for a successful internship:

1. A staff member willing to commit time into training/mentoring.

2. An hourly pay, but a much lower one than what you would pay full-time employees. There are tighter laws recently on unpaid internships, so pay at least minimum wage to avoid any problems.

3. A plan outlining what the intern will be getting out of the internship (projects, objectives, goals, resume-building experiences).

4. Work assignments an intern can actually learn from (other than filing, making coffee, etc.).

5. Detailed guidelines and a routine or schedule. You don’t need to baby your intern, but some sort of guidance is definitely needed.

6. Clear communication: Exactly what you want from them as well as constructive feedback on the work they have done.