How To Prep For Your First Trade Show As Freelancer

Being a freelancer brings a host of advantages, such as being able to set your schedule and decide how much work you do. But it also comes with a host of costs too - including the fact that there’s nobody you can fall back on to support you. If you want to get something done, you have to do it all yourself. 

Prepping for a tradeshow is easy for big companies. They divide the labor, give everyone a role, and get the job done. For the humble solo entrepreneur, however, it is much more of a challenge. You have to take over the entire administrative process yourself, with only a small level of support from the venue.

Going to a trade show as a freelancer, however, is one of the most potent ways to drum up new business, regardless of what you sell. You can finally put your name out there and meet people in person instead of relying on endless internet marketing - something that costs a considerable amount of time and money. 

So how do you prep for your first trade show as a freelancer? Take a look at the following advice. 

Contact A Stall Designer 

According to www.infinityexhibits.com, the design of your stall is the first thing that you should consider when planning on attending a trade show. You want something that will not only grab the attention of delegates but will also reflect your brand - whatever that happens to be. 

Unfortunately, there are no easy answers here. Your best bet is to get in touch with professional designers and talk to them about their needs. Make sure that you do this well in advance of the tradeshow as it can take a while for your plans to become a reality. 

Constructing a trade show stall from scratch can be expensive, so freelancers should also focus on ways to save money here. There’s no need to get a company to custom-make paneling for you or include costly gadgets and gizmos. Often just adding your company skin to a pre-fabbed display can help you lower your costs tremendously. 

Speak To The Venue About Support

The next step is to contact the venue and talk to them about the support that they offer setting up stalls. Some exhibitions provide operatives who help exhibitors set up their stalls, unloading them from trucks and so on. Others barely give any support at all - not even loading and unloading bay. You’ll need to figure this stuff out in advance before attending to work out whether it’s worth your time. 

Find A Logistics Company

The final step is to find a logistics company that can transport your stall to the site. 

Some freelancers won’t need to bother with this step if their belongings can all fit in a van. They can just rock up to the show with all their gear in the back. Others will need to give it a little more consideration and contact a third-party logistics supplier. www.shopify.com provides more information about how to do this.