All I needed to know about tradeshows, I learned from riding

While driving to the show this morning, I got this vaguely familiar feeling that I’d done this before. But really, I haven’t. Yes, I’ve gone to tradeshows, and I’ve been on both sides of the booth and both sides of a panel, but not a hundred times. Not for twenty years.

So why does this all somehow seem routine? Horse shows.

Yes, I was one of those quintessential little girls asking for a pony from the age of about 6 onward. I rode for almost ten years, worked in various stables from the age of thirteen to twenty, and went to horse shows year, after year, after year. Competitor, spectator, volunteer, groom, I’ve been there. Beyond just being some of the best times of my life so far, here’s a few of the lessons I learned:

Pessimism can be a good thing.

Prepare for the worst. If something can go wrong, it just might, and you don’t want to be caught without a backup plan. Bring extra saddle pads, a horse blanket or two even though it’s summer, and your own damn water hose. Having the box of business cards at arms length, extra precautions to keep the computers/monitors from getting dinged up, and not relying on “Free WiFi!”for all your demos is good. Then you can focus on smiling when people come by instead of stressing because your writing your name/number on napkins and the blue screen of death is the only demo you’ll be showing that day.

Be prepared for heavy lifting.

No need to be a body builder, but at some point along the way you’re going to need to put your back into it. Whether it’s hay bales or a trunk full of computers, it really helps to be self sufficient. Carrying a 15lb box of tradeshow trinkets seven blocks is a breeze once you’ve done stable set up and take down for twelve horses. Singlehandedly. When you don’t feel disgruntled because it’s all on you, it’s a delightful surprise when someone offers a hand.

Think friendly (i.e. it’s more than networking/it ain’t all about you).

A horse show can either be like a big ol’ community campfire of jokes and fun, or be so full of unkind, competitive snobbery that you could choke on it. I’ve seen them both, and the second scenario is wretched for a few reasons. Number one, it takes effort to be mean. Why waste the energy? Number two, that girl you were just gossiping about in the next stall over (when she was filling up her water buckets ten feet away)? She may end up being the only soul on the grounds with a screwdriver — just when you need one. That guy you just bumped out of the way to get to the free croissants first? He could be a potential customer, contact, or, gee…just as hungry as you.  

Okay, maybe not all I need to know…there’s more floating around in my head, but I think that’s enough for now. We’re back at Music 2.0 tomorrow (got to rest up!), so I’ll keep pondering…as well as posting on Hear Here about some of the more interesting topics/points that came up during the actual show itself.