5 Trade Show Tips

KleenSlate just spent 17 days on the road at four separate trade shows. Early on in my inventor journey, I learned the value of getting to industry specific trade shows. In my case, that meant educational and office supply shows. The most recent round of shows were educational, which brings me to the focus of this post: 5 trade show tips.

You see, it's simply not enough to get to the shows which in some cases cost a bundle to attend. You need to make them profitable. Here are my suggestions for making the most of your time at a trade show.

1. Do your homework. Find out who will be attending the show and what they need. In these tough economic times, it also pays to find out who has money to spend. For example, most schools are taking drastic measures to cut costs, so when I decided to go to these educational trade shows, I needed to find out who had money to spend. With a little investigation, I discovered that there was money in Title I programs, so I made these people my target audience at each trade show.
2. Where comfortable shoes. You are going to be on your feet for hours at a trade show, so invest in the most comfortable shoes possible. It will be money well spent. You need to happy feet to stay upbeat while promoting your product.
3. Give a KISS presentation and then listen: Keep your presentation simple, a maximum of 3 talking points aimed at the target customer(s) you identified by doing your homework. Give your presentation, quickly and smoothly. Then stop and listen to the customer. Ask them questions. Find out what problems they are trying to solve. I asked questions and learned that teachers hated the smell of dry erase markers; they frequently threw them away because the tips collapsed into the marker, and they wanted an eraser on the end. So I created such a marker for my customer.
4. Close the deal. Don't let a potential sale get away. Develop a practiced phrase or two that gets customers to place an order on the spot. If necessary, offer a deal they can't pass up. Keep the ordering process easy.
5. Follow-up. Have someone in place when you get home who can follow-up on every contact you made at the trade show and do it promptly.

Trade shows are one of the best options to show customers our products, but we have to make them work to our advantage.

Innovative Customers

When I invented the Kwik Chek paddles, I envisioned them being put to use in classrooms across the country. Back then I wasn't aware of customer innovations. Since that time, the paddle has been used in a myriad of contexts including with hospital patients who are temporarily unable to speak, to prompt kids about chores, and at least one time to facilitate a date.

I recently learned that the paddles have made it all the way to Afghanistan to take part in the war there. Here is an email message that explains:

I heard about your company through a Google search for white board paddles. I am a Crew Chief on Chinook helicopters for the US Army currently deployed to Afghanistan. These paddles come in handy when you are trying to communicate with ground personnel and passengers over the loud noise of the helicopter. I appreciate your services and will definitely pass on your name when other crew members ask me where I got them.

Thanks!
Tyler Parsons

Recognition Revisited

Late in the month of May, I was selected as the the 2010 Central California Small Business Person of the Year. Family, friends, and fellow small business owners gathered at the Tuolumne County Board of Supervisors' Office for the award presentation.

This blog post, however, is not an announcement about the award which was posted previously on Inventor Mentor. Instead I want to write about the mileage we inventors and entrepreneurs get from awards such as these.

I am a tremendously self-motivated person who can go, go, go under the duress of disgruntled customers, flawed product, employee turn-over, 100s of email messages every day, and phone calls that divert my attention from even the best laid plans. Even without recognition, I am purposeful and goal oriented, and though I may have a low moment or even a down day, I generally wake up raring to go.

But I just have to say, that getting the Small Business Person of the Year award has fanned the fire that propels me. Two months later, I am still feeling the momentum created by receiving not only the recognition of the Small Business Administration but also the hugs, handshakes and well wishes of the family and friends who gathered to celebrate this accomplishment. Every single congratulatory email and Facebook post ignited another ember of satisfaction.

I am grateful to everyone who has said "Good job!" and "Congratulations!" Recognition is truly an energizing force! I intend to let it drive me as far as it will take me.

Protect Your Ideas!

When I first launched KleenSlate Concepts, many people tried to discourage me from seeking a patent, saying the process was time consuming and of little value. So, why did I pursue this protection and what did I protect?

First and foremost, as an inventor with little capital but a great idea, I knew that trademarks and patents would clearly demonstrate my claim to the ideas I had developed. Without that protection, anyone could watch to see if I achieved market success with my product, and then produce it in competition with me without fearing my legal claim to the idea.

In my case, I protected my name, KleenSlate, with a trademark and my first product, an attachable eraser for dry-erase markers, with a patent.

I can’t emphasize enough the importance of protecting your ideas through trademarks and patents.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office website offers a wealth of information and resources to guide this part of your inventor journey. In addition to FAQ pages, online chats and special programs to lower filing fees, they publish a monthly newsletter, InventorsEye, a great publication for aspiring and accomplished inventors alike.

I am delighted to be the featured inventor in the "Flash of Genius" column in the July 2010 issue of the InventorsEye. Take a look at the article and the rest of the issue for advice and support for independent inventors.

The Right Sisters: Hot Off the Press!

My newly published book, The Right Sisters: Women Inventors Tell Their Stories, is getting rave reviews.

Don Kelly, Former US Patent and Trademark Office Chief of Staff who now runs Patent Agent Plus had this to say:

“A MUST READ!” for anyone with an inventive idea and curiosity about what it takes to bring that idea to market. Rhodes and Harrelson have captured a wonderfully readable collection of richly moving stories about contemporary women innovators - - in their own words. As a special tribute to sisters everywhere, The Right Sisters is an eloquent commentary on still-prevailing barriers faced by female inventors. Beyond that, the tales of their courageous struggles and heartwarming victories deliver a powerful dose of motivation for us all.

Lorin Beller Blake at Big Fish Nation says

The Right Sisters is brilliant! Women entrepreneurs all over the world are becoming a force that is having more and more impact. We need inspiration every day to remind us to keep going. That is what this book offers—inspiration from women who have a seedling of an idea and make it a reality.

Bob DeMatteis, author of From Patent to Profit, says

The Right Sisters will make you laugh, make you cheer, and at times make you cry. It will give you a whole new perspective on the extraordinary vision, perseverance, and generosity of America’s women inventors. Julia and Patricia tell why the next wave of innovation in America will be from women!

Order your copy now on the "Contact Us" page of KleenSlate Concepts.

The Invention of Blue Jeans

The following passage was featured on the Writer's Almanac on May 20, 2010:

It was on this day in 1873 that Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis received a patent for work pants reinforced with metal rivets, the pants that came to be known as "blue jeans."

But the story of blue jeans began about 500 years ago, in the port city of Genoa, Italy, where a special thick cloth was used to make pants for fishermen and sailors in the Genoese navy. The cloth came from the Italian town of Chieri, a town known for its weaving and textiles. The fabric started out brown, but was eventually dyed blue with gualdo, or wode, a plant that was popular for its blue dye before indigo. The pants were designed to be heavy-duty, to stand up to wet and dry, to roll up easily when the deck got wet, and to be quickly removable if the wearer fell overboard. Our term "blue jeans" comes from a bastardization of the French "bleu de Genes," or "blue of Genoa." In 2009, Genoa held a three-day conference celebrating their role in the history of blue jeans.

But the fabric that Levi Strauss ended up choosing was serge, from the city of Nîmes, in France. It may have been copied from the Italian version, or it may be a similar fabric that was created independently, but it was this "serge de Nîmes," that Strauss chose for his pants, and "de Nîmes" eventually turned into plain old "denim."

Levi Strauss was an immigrant from Bavaria, born Loeb Strauss in 1829. His family had a dry goods business, and when he was 24 years old, he saw an opportunity in the California Gold Rush and headed west. He had some canvas that he had intended to use for wagon covers and tents, but when he discovered that the men out there had trouble finding sturdy work pants, he started making pants out of canvas. And when he heard that the pants were good but they chafed, he switched fabric, to the "serge de Nîmes."

One of his customers was a tailor named Jacob Davis, from Reno, Nevada, who bought cloth from Strauss and sewed his own work pants from it. Davis had heard from customers that the pockets kept ripping, so he had the idea to reinforce them with metal rivets at their weak points. He decided that he should get a patent for this idea, but he didn't have enough money. So he wrote Strauss and asked if he would be interested in sharing a patent for sturdy work pants with metal rivets, and Strauss agreed. On this day in 1873, the two men received U.S. Patent No. 139,121 for "Improvement in Fastening Pocket-Openings."

By the 1920s, jeans were the most popular men's work pants, although still used only by laborers — with one notable exception being the Santa Fe Artists Colony, whose members wore blue jeans in the 1920s as an artistic statement. In the 1930s, Hollywood Westerns portrayed cowboys in jeans, and they became a novelty fashion item for East Coasters who went to dude ranches. During World War II, jeans were considered suitable work pants for both men and women to wear in factories. For women's jeans, the zipper went down the right side instead of the front.

The 1950s saw the biggest change for jeans, as they became a teenage status symbol. James Dean wore jeans in Rebel Without a Cause, and along with leather jackets, they became the quintessential clothing of bad boys and juvenile delinquents. Jack Kerouac wore blue jeans and work shirts as early as the 1940s. In the late 1950s and into the 1960s, jeans became the outfit of choice for bohemian artists, preferably with a black turtleneck and sandals. In 1960, the word "jeans" was finally used in advertising (teenagers had been using it for years). By the late 1960s, bellbottom jeans were taken up by the flower children of the counterculture, and by the 1970s they were a staple of mainstream American culture. And there are some people who can always wear jeans — John Grisham said: "Writers can wear anything. I could go to a black-tie dinner in New York City with blue jeans on and boots and a cowboy hat and a bow tie, and people would just say, 'Oh, he's a writer.'"

kleenSlate Concepts Selected as the Central California 2010 Small Business Person of the Year

MommyPerks.com Rocks! I love building relationships with new customers!

KleenSlate Concepts Selected as the Central California 2010 Small Business Person of the Year

May/10/2010

2 packs, 12 packs, 24 packs. Check the site for rates.

*Please note: Mommy Perks is not in the habit of posting business press releases on our blog. However, the owner of KleenSlate Concepts recently made a large contribution to our first Twitter Party. We, in turn, are happy to promote the Central California Small Business Person of the Year press release, in her honor!

Release Date: May 7, 2010
(559) 487-5791, ext 143
Contact: Melende Ward

KleenSlate Concepts Selected as the Central California 2010 Small Business Person of the Year

National Small Business Week: May 23-29, 2010

SONORA, CA – The U.S. Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Fresno District Office announced today that Julia Rhodes owner of KleenSlate Concepts has been selected as the 2010 Central California Small Business Person of the Year.

The award presentation for KleenSlate Concepts will be held on May 24, 2010, 12:00 noon at the Sonora Board of Supervisors Chamber located at 2 S. Green Street, 4th Floor in Sonora. For information regarding the award presentation, please contact Melende Ward at (559) 487-5791.

This year marks the 47th annual proclamation by the President calling for the celebration of National Small Business Week. The award recognizes a business owner who exemplifies the entrepreneurial spirit and honors his or her individual contributions to the community. KleenSlate Concepts was selected after a competition held among businesses located within the 15 Central California counties served by the Fresno SBA. The Alliance Small Business Development Center of Modesto nominated the business for the award.

“The Small Business Administration is very proud of the tremendous growth and success that KleenSlate Concepts has achieved. This company serves as a role model for other small business entrepreneurs,” said Carlos G. Mendoza, District Director for the Fresno SBA Office.

Upon notification that she was selected for the award Rhodes said, “I am honored to be selected and I wouldn’t be here today without the help of family, friends and loyal customers. It helps having great products, however, at the end of the day it is the team you have in place that makes or breaks you.”

KleenSlate Concepts was founded in 2001 by Julia Rhodes. At that time her product was little more than a well developed idea for a solution to a common problem – “the missing white board eraser.”

As a previous elementary school teacher, Julia was very familiar with wasting time hunting for erasers for dry erase boards. She did her research and found that no one was manufacturing an eraser that would cap directly to the end of a dry erase marker. With the help of the Alliance Small Business Development Center, Julia started working on her business plan and attended many training and counseling sessions.

Since the development of the dry erase cap KleenSlate has developed many other products including the Dry-Erase Paddles which can be used in classroom settings and team activities. Every paddle is complete with a marker and eraser. The paddle marketing theme “Put the Paddle Back in the Classroom” allows every student in the classroom a hand-held dry erase paddle. The paddles allow an entire classroom to answer a question instead of an individual student. Knowing how financially strapped the schools are, but seeing the measurable difference the paddles are making in the schools performance, Julia is enlisting local businesses to help support local schools.

In 2002, the United States Patent and Trademark Office issued Julia her first patent and trademark and Julia currently holds international patents in China and Japan with other patents pending in multiple countries around the world. She also mentors new inventors on the challenges of the inventor’s journey and is in the process of writing a book to share her knowledge.

KleenSlate Concepts has rapidly evolved into an international product development company providing simple yet effective communication tools for businesses, classrooms, hospitals, homes and travel. The firm currently exports products to the countries of UK, Germany, Spain, Australia, Canada, Peru, Denmark, Switzerland, France, Japan, Israel, China, New Zealand and Ireland and donates products to deaf schools in Africa and Ethiopia.

The popularity and success of KleenSlate products has big retailers such as Office Depot featuring the products in their stores, web sites and catalogs. The business has four employees in its Sonora office and dozens of independent sales reps around the world.

Kurt Clark, Center Director of the Alliance Small Business Development Center said, ““When Julia approached the Alliance SBDC for assistance in 2002, she had already cashed out her teachers pension and had refinanced her house. Like many entrepreneurs, Julia committed all of her personal financial resources to her dream, but also engaged family and friends to provide the seed capital necessary to develop her first product. Assistance from the SBDC enabled her to develop a Business Plan and helped her secure a loan from the local County Revolving Loan Fund (RLF).”

“Julia’s path in business is one that many entrepreneurs experience including the need to stay educated on the ever-changing challenges of business ownership. I am proud to have worked with Julia through these past eight years and see the tremendous success she has had and how she has inspired others to live their own dream,” said Center Director Clark.

Small Business Person of the Year nominations are judged on seven basic criteria: staying power, growth in number of employees, increase in sales and/or unit volume, current and past financial reports, innovativeness of product or service, response to adversity and evidence of contributions to community-oriented projects.