7 Reasons to Attend a Conference or Trade Show for Your Niche

Last week, the class announcements were made for the June session of the All Things Silhouette Conference in Peachtree City, Georgia. After missing the last conference due to my husband’s health, I’m thrilled to say I will again be presenting! (And thank you for the all the kind words in emails and messages about my return. I am probably more excited than you!) If you’ve never attended a conference or trade show related to your small business, I’m going to talk you into it today.

7 Reasons to Attend a Conference or Trade Show for Your Niche

1. Meet like minded people. Imagine a room (or whole hotel!) full of people with the same passions you have. People that you can talk crafts or graphic design to – and they actually understand! Yep, that’s what you find at conferences and trade shows.
2. Small business networking. In addition to merely meeting and visiting with like minded people, the connections that you make a conferences can be invaluable to your small business. It’s quite common to hear of introductions at conferences that have led to amazing partnerships and collaborations.
3. Meet leading creators and figures in your niche. If you subscribe to blogs or video channels, conferences give you the opportunity to meet the people behind the productions face-to-face!
4. Learn new things. Whether it is a class on a new technique to bring back to your Silhouette or Cricut business or simply a faster way to do something you already do; conferences are great for learning.
5. See new products and vendors. Most conferences have a section for vendors to sell and show off new products. Obviously, trade shows have aisles and aisles of vendors.
6. It’s all a business expense. When you add in conference registration fees with travel and lodging expenses, it can get pretty expensive. Don’t let the expense scare you, because everything related to the conference is a business expense.
7. They are fun! Last but not least, most conferences have special events during the conferences like contests, giveaway prizes, and more. There’s no better way to stay motivated in your small business than having fun while working it!

If you haven’t heard of the All Things Silhouette Conference, head here to learn more. If you can’t make the June date, there’s another one in November. If that doesn’t work out either, Mallory has a great list of creative conferences at this link. And, this link is helpful in locating a show near you.

Save this post to Pinterest and I hope to meet you in person soon!