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I don't know if it's the lure of Las Vegas that attracted us or the business opportunity, but a few days ago, we signed up to be
exhibitors at a major show for human-resource professionals in June. Since they're the people my editorial-staffing business deal with most
often, we thought it would be a good idea to let the rest of the country know that we're here. It's the largest show we've ever done.
Las Vegas aside, it wasn't an easy decision since it means new presentation materials, a large outlay of cash (the exhibit space costs
$2,600 alone), and travel -- all to mount a booth that is basically an elaborate lemonade stand.
REFURBISHED MEANS USED. For the booth, we went to John, a local guy with his own shop who has helped me out before with small,
tabletop displays. John is kind of a freak -- complete with ponytail -- and takes great pride in his craft. John's first estimate was a bit
high for what we wanted. We are talking about a 10-by-10 particleboard structure, after all, not San Simeon. Heck, the halogen lamps alone
were $149 each. The booth would have cost us another $2,600, including some optional stuff like a front pedestal. His price wasn't
extravagant, mind you. The graphics alone can run that much on some booths. Still, we asked him to go back and redo the numbers.
The next estimate was about $600 lower but a careful reading of the fine print revealed that we would be buying a "refurbished" booth.
Instead of redoing the math, John redid a booth. Anyway, we were a little suspicious. I called John back. "What do you mean by
refurbished?" I asked. As soon as the question came out of my mouth, I could hear how stupid it was. "Well," John said politely. "It's
used.... But we make them look pretty good." Still, John agreed to go back and "take another little look at the numbers." We're waiting for
them.
For the travel arrangements, Andy, my operations manager, went to LowestFare.com and found some unbelievable fares on real airlines with
wings, seats, and all. We also used the site to book a flight for an upcoming trip to California.
BUDGETING FOR BLACKJACK. Ordinarily, we would just buy the tickets, but the woman I've been married to for the past 25 years
happens to be a travel agent. She couldn't come close to the California fare we got, but she hit a home run for the Las Vegas trip. She
also mentioned something about coming along. Matter of fact, Andy's wife, Pam, did the same thing when he broke the news to her. There go
our cigar and brandy nights.
Anyway, we initially figured on spending about $6,000 just to go to the show, if you add in hotel, food, shipping John's booth, and
assorted extras, such as a day trip or a spiritual experience at the blackjack table. Then, we realized that our new Web site would be up
and running by that time so we'd probably need new brochures and handouts to promote it.
All of a sudden, we were looking at an additional $5,000 or so -- and that's conservative. We still haven't figured out the cost of
being out of the office for such a prolonged time and the wear and tear on our entrepreneurial spirits (trade shows are a killer). But hey,
Jay Leno's going to be there. Las Vegas, deal us in.
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George Giokas is the president and CEO of StaffWriters Plus, a specialty agency that places writers in
temporary and permanent positions with corporate and other employers. It also provides editorial consulting work.
His database includes 2,500 writers and editors specializing in more than 60 categories. His Web site is located at www.staffwriters.com, and you can E-mail him at
george@staffwriters.com.
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