Passion for the subject
If I learned only two rules from the failure of my nanotechnology event launch, they were:
1) as a show organizer you must be passionate about the topic of your tradeshow, and
2) you must be able to speak intelligently about the subject to anyone who is an expert in the field (ie, your exhibitors, speakers and attendees)
While I thought nanotechnology was interesting, it was not a passion for me. And being able to speak intelligently on the subject? No. I was a Political Science major. While doing research into industries that didn’t have a large trade show associated with them yet, nanotechnology always came up. It’s very rare that you find an industry these days that does not have a trade show already. I thought that being the first would give me enough momentum to overshadow rule 1 and 2.
Rule # 3: nothing overshadows rule #1 and #2 - including money. No amount of money will buy you out of rule 1 and 2.
April 2nd, 2005 at 6:09 am |
As a matter of personal principle I agree with you. But there are plenty of people who are making money on shows in subjects they could care less about.
I think your point is valid in some scenarios, particularly engineering and technology where there are strong opinion leaders and more of an ‘open source’ mentality that promotes sharing information for the greater good instead of trying to make a buck on it. Credibility is needed in those areas.
But there are plenty of other fields where the constituents just want to make a buck and are willing to follow anyone who can help them do so.
April 2nd, 2005 at 2:19 pm |
“No amount of money will buy you out of rule 1 and 2.”
Maybe not, but it will allow you to hire someone who does have the passion and knowledge you need to make it fly. While I think Rich is right (as usual), I do think that a show organizer who has 1 and 2 has a huge leg up on the “I’ll do anything for a buck” people, especially if you want it to keep going and growing. People can tell when you’re excited about something for its own sake, rather than just for the money you can make off it. There’s something infectious about genuine enthusiasm that can go a long way.
Good luck, and I look forward to following your blog as you go–you’re off to a great start! (Side note on your post below: I always liked “tradeshow” better, but our house style is to keep it as two separate words.)
November 12th, 2008 at 6:18 pm |
ki404nvvvrq77wav
November 13th, 2008 at 4:38 am |
Black dating man site web white woman….
Black man dating white woman. Black woman dating white man….