Will Sampson talks about how trade shows have an ancient history but they are still relevant in the modern world. Then joins a panel of Woodworking Network editors to talk about things they saw at the International Woodworking Fair in Atlanta.
This episode of the Woodworking Network Podcast was sponsored by Wood Pro Expo Lancaster. You don’t have to wait a year for the next big industrial woodworking show if you are near the Mid-Atlantic area. Wood Pro Expo Lancaster offers a lot of what the big shows have including machinery in action, a show floor with a wide selection of exhibitors offering show specials, and a conference full of educational sessions to boost your business. All of that in a convenient setting in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Network with peers, learn about ways to improve your business, and see your next machine in action at Wood Pro Expo Lancaster, October 13-14, at Spooky Nook Sports Center. Learn more at WoodProExpoLancaster.com. See you there!
Woodworking Network is a home for professional woodworkers, presenting technology, supplies, education, inspiration, and community, from small business entrepreneurs to corporate managers at large automated plants.
You can find all of our podcasts at WoodworkingNetwork.com/podcasts and in popular podcast channels. Be sure to subscribe so you don’t miss an episode. Thanks again to today’s sponsor, Wood Pro Expo. If you have a comment or topic you’d like us to explore, contact me at will.sampson@woodworkingnetwork.com. And we would really appreciate it if you fill out the survey at woodworking network.com/podcast-survey. Thanks for listening.
Intro music courtesy of Anthony Monson.
Intro:
Welcome to this episode of the Woodworking Network Podcast. Join us as we explore the business of woodworking big and small and what it takes to succeed. I’m Will Sampson.
Today’s episode is sponsored by Wood Pro Expo Lancaster. Today our guests include the editors of Woodworking Network who covered this year’s International Woodworking Fair in a roundtable interview recorded live at the show. But first I want to talk about:
Trade shows still count
Trade shows today aren’t that far removed from ancient local bazaars. After all, what is a trade show but a gathering of merchants and buyers trying to make trades. Placing that centuries-old history against today’s modern communication technology, some might think the trade show has outlived its usefulness and is just an anachronism in the modern world? Not at all.
Look no further than the recent International Woodworking Fair in Atlanta. After four years without a face-to-face event, the Western Hemisphere’s largest woodworking trade show drew tens of thousands to Atlanta to see what’s new, buy machinery, tools, supplies, and services, and to learn and network to improve their businesses. Vendors spent literally millions of dollars to have plenty of big, running machinery on the trade show floor, and organizers were pleased to see booths take over all three halls of the World Congress Center with about 1,000 exhibitors.
The same thing that made ancient public markets a success still provides the fundamental energy to make modern trade shows continue. That’s the fundamental, face-to-face contact between buyers and sellers, between people hungry for new knowledge and new products and the people who want to supply the latest knowledge and products.
And because the audience makeup changes from year to year, even mature products and knowledge are hungrily sought by those who are new to the industry or just new to the trade show. I’ve been talking about pricing for custom woodworking for more than two decades, but I still attracted a standing-room-only crowd of nearly 150 people to a talk on pricing your work.
I love trade shows. From the massive, high-tech machinery in huge booths on down to the struggling entrepreneur trying to peddle a new widget from a little 10x10-foot booth, it’s all great. I learn about new processes and technology, rekindle old friendships, make new ones, and get the chance to feel the live pulse of the industry.
And I can tell you, that pulse is beating strong.
I want to talk more about the show, but first, let’s pause for a word from our sponsor:
You don’t have to wait a year for the next big industrial woodworking show if you are near the Mid-Atlantic area. Wood Pro Expo Lancaster offers a lot of what the big shows have including machinery in action, a show floor with a wide selection of exhibitors offering show specials, and a conference full of educational sessions to boost your business. All of that in a convenient setting in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Network with peers, learn about ways to improve your business, and see your next machine in action at Wood Pro Expo Lancaster, October 13-14, at Spooky Nook Sports Center. Learn more at WoodProExpoLancaster.com. See you there!
Now let’s get to our discussion with the Woodworking Network staff covering IWF: