Last week, we made our first public appearance at Real Estate Connect '99 in San Francisco. It's the largest trade show serving the new online real estate world, and there, we officially announced our new business, zipRealty.com -- our online home-sale Web site. The event went very well for us, but behind the scenes there were quite a few bumps in the road. For your next trade show, fellow entrepreneurs, here's a post-mortem on our first:

Do go to these things. This seems like a no-brainer. I know it's tempting to take a pass because they cost thousands of dollars and take enormous amounts of employee time. However, they are a great place to soak up all the recent developments in your market and establish a presence in your field -- just by showing up.

Don't forget to register. Oops. During the move between our old office and our new office, we forgot to complete the online registration form and were about to lose our booth space. Luckily an inside source from the company running the show tipped us off to this potential disaster one day before the final registration deadline. After a few phone calls and a quick visit to the registration headquarters, we were back on track.

Do plan to have a booth at the show. Without one, there's no place in the sea of faces and booths where people can zero in on your company. A good booth reflects well on the company, pleasing investors and attracting press attention.

Don't wait until the day before the show to collect your marketing materials and booth decor. Although we had the computer and some of the promotional material, we were receiving T-shirts, booth displays, and other material the morning before the setup. While "just-in-time" delivery works great for Toyota, it's very bad for the nerves of overwrought entrepreneurs.

Do attend the social events. No matter how tired you are, show up at the parties. After-hours dealmaking can move negotiations further along than five weeks of phone calls and faxes. When the people behind the E-mail meet, somehow they just feel that much more comfortable about an agreement. Plus you deserve to have some fun -- even at a trade show.

Don't have too much fun, though. Nothing ruins an up-and-coming entrepreneur's image like an overdose of alcohol. One of our advisers dragged the USA Today reporter over to meet my partner, Juan, in the middle of a big party. Fortunately, Juan was completely sober (unlike some others at the party). They had a great conversation, which lead to a short mention in the fellow's Tuesday story covering the event. Imagine how that bit of media attention might have turned out had Juan been inebriated. Party animals, take heed.

Do be courteous to everyone who visits your company's booth. You never know who is waiting to talk to you. Late in the second day, I had finally gotten a break in the action when I noticed someone waiting patiently to talk to a company representative. Fighting my desire to sit down (my back and feet were killing me), I hobbled over to say hello. The person turned out to be a Los Angeles Times editor who wanted more information on the company.

Don't expect to make everyone happy. I lost count of the number of people who came up to start a debate about how we were never going to succeed. Just take their cards and smile politely.

Do complete a post-show memo. You spent big bucks on the event. Get your money's worth. Gather up what everyone learned there, and turn it into a succinct report that highlights the key lessons.

Don't forget to turn in your own input. I still get flak for riding everyone to get in his or her feedback and not putting mine together. Leadership starts at the top. Yeah. So right after I complete this column, I'm going to write my post-conference feedback. Or maybe I'll sleep...I'll do it tomorrow.

Scott Kucirek is president and co-founder of zipRealty.com, an online real estate brokerage. The company's Internet site and online real estate agents let people complete the entire purchase or sale of a house via the Web. The company's Web site is www.zipRealty.com, and you can E-mail Scott at Scott@zipRealty.com.