The following is the article I wrote which appeared in the April-June 2009 issue of Personal Chef Magazine. The printed version was edited for space, this is the original copy…

Your PC business is just a few months old. The economy is less than desirable and people are cutting back on what they view as unnecessary expenses, including one of the most necessary… food. You live on a farm, out in the country where the population of the livestock is more than the population of the people and the nearest grocery store is a half an hour away…

There are numerous factors that may be effecting your own PC business, and even if you can relate to just one of the above, it may be time to supplement your regular 5 x 4 clients with something else just to fill in some cooking dates until things begin to turn back around.

Personally, since my PC business is new, and I am affected by all of the above, I felt it was necessary to take my name and business someplace where there are people willing to spend some money in this area in these economic times. I decided to do my first Bridal Show and wanted to share my experience with all of you who may be trying to decide if perhaps you want to do something similar.

First things first… I am not new to the trade show floor. Before I went to the Culinary Business Academy in Atlanta in October of 2008, I was (and still am) the Director of Marketing and Sales for Soap Alchemy. You may be familiar with our ad in this very magazine. We have been going to wholesale trade shows for a little while now so with that experience and with the help of people like our very own USPCA President, Chef Gail and Carlin Breinig of Home Cooking Personal Chef Service as well as one of the instructors at CBA in Atlanta, I had what I hope to be a very successful first Bridal Show as Dinner Magician Personal Chef Service.

If you plan to do any type of trade show, the first thing to remember is you need to expect the unexpected. Even the best laid plans may need to be changed at the last minute. For example, the Anise Cookies I had planned on making for the event turned to paste as I was trying to pipe them through the bag. What came out were very pretty small scallop shell shaped cookies. Unfortunately, after about 2 dozen or so, I could no longer get the dough through the tip of the bag! Live and learn! Anise Cookies get whipped for at least 20 minutes and once you press the air out, you can’t do anything with them!

Just roll with it and you’ll be fine. I got out my handy cookie press and using the mini cookie dies that came with it, I proceeded to make a variety of Spritz Cookies.

But, Murphy’s Law wasn’t done there! We had just come back from 2 weeks of back to back shows 6 days before this Bridal Show and at each of those shows, our booth size went from a 10 x 10 to a 10 x 20.

When I got to this show, my 10 x 10, which I have been used to being up against a wall leaving a back wall, 2 corners, 2 sides and a front, was actually 2 fronts and 2 sides. I was smack dab in the center isle so the brides could come at me from both sides!

Now, I had paired up with Soap Alchemy for this show, so we did, in effect, have 2 set ups for 2 businesses in this space, but my original floor plan shared one front for both of us as we were marketing both businesses as something that could be used separately or could be paired up as a great spa package with natural soap, great spa items to pamper yourself with and your own chef! What a great wedding gift for the newlyweds! We even set it up so I had sample gift certificates for a great dinner for 2 that could be used for gifts for the bridal party, the groomsmen and the parents of the bride and groom.

Everything could be paired with a Soap Alchemy Gift Box or used on it’s own. My problem now was using the two fronts to the booth but still connecting the 2 businesses. The shelving was designed to go around a corner, (which I did not have), and curving the shelving into the center of the booth made it impossible to place the table where I had intended to seat people.

I think I managed to pull it off. That table went back to the van, and thanks to Chef Carlin’s great advice, I kept with my original plan and put a small table up in one corner and set it up for a romantic dinner for 2 complete with white tablecloth and chair covers and a lovely centerpiece which our florist incorporated bars of soap into to be used as wedding favors.

My marketing materials, which included my presentation folder, brochure, business cards, magnets and a separate rack card which listed many ideas for how to use my service in relation to a wedding, were laid out and displayed on a longer table at one side of the booth. In my folder, I did include my food questionnaire, a sample contract, my business policies (Thanks to Cathy Marella-Luce of Magical Meals and an instructor from CBA), and some sample PCS menus.

The Spritz Cookies, in 4 different colors, flavors and shapes, were placed in small cello bags tied with a sheer ribbon with my business cards attached and were displayed in a wire fruit basket in the center of that table. These I passed out to all the people who I spoke to through the day.

Also, thanks again to Chef Carlin, I printed some sample gift certificates on wedding invitation paper and displayed those as well with small metal place card holders around the cookie basket and in 2 frames I displayed my sample menus.

Since there were also response cards in the wedding invitation kit, I took these, left them together (there are two cards per one sheet perforated in the center) and printed a Save the Date card on top with a space for the bride’s name, wedding date and what type of service she was interested in as well as my logo and contact information. On the bottom card, I printed a card that had the same information except the space with my information was replaced with a space for her contact information.

When a bride expressed an interest in using my service for her wedding, I took this card, filled out the top and bottom and then separated the two sections and placed her card in one of the envelopes, also provided in the kit, which I had also printed my logo and contact information and put it in one of my presentation folders for her to take with her. I didn’t think I would need these, but I used several! I did not take any money but did have some order sheets ready just in case.

In the other front corner of my front of the booth was my gigantic Dinner Magician Poster! I had thought it was too big when I picked it up from the printer, but once set up and I looked at it from across the room, it was an attention grabber and could be seen and read from quite a distance. I don’t know where to put it in the house, but a 3 x 4 sign is a good thing!

I set up the soap shelving back to back with my poster and put a gift certificate in one of the gift boxes to show how they could pair up the two. Some of the soap was also displayed in Organza bags to be used as favors and the marketing materials were set up at one end of the table where mine were at. We also ran a raffle with a spa gift basket and a dinner for 2 which enabled us to get names, addresses and emails for people who seemed interested in what we had to offer.

The show gives us a list of all attendees, but having a separate list of names gives me a better place to start with any follow up marketing in the future, such as post cards and thank you notes. Most of the people who filled out these entries are in my service area so it saves me from having to go through over 2000 names to find those that are in my area.

Now, another benefit to these shows is the business to business marketing contacts you can make with the other vendors. As well as maybe even finding a regular client or two from other business owners who are too busy to cook!

There were some personal trainers there in the booth across from us and I talked to the owner letting him know that if needed, I was available for talks to his clients about portioning and even doing healthy cooking demonstrations. He was very receptive and happy to have some ideas on how to get his clients to eat better and use better portion control. Not to mention that I could get some regular clients from there as well.

There were other businesses who get asked every day for ideas from their clients for other things to make their day special and they approached me to get some of my brochures and cards to hand out.

And there were a couple other vendors who just wanted to have someone cook for them as they are too busy with their businesses and kids and having a Personal Chef is just the thing they need!

And finally, just the amount of people who came up to me and said, “What a great idea! We have never heard of that before! A chef that comes to your house!” was more than enough to make me think this was and will be a successful event. The more we can get our business out there in front of people, the more people who will call us to cook for them!

As of this writing, 3 days after the show, I have all ready been approached to cook for a group of 10 women who are presidents of various companies in the area. This referral was from a catering company at the show who doesn’t cook for any group less than 50 people. The clients are out there, even in this out of the way, farming community with more livestock than people. You just have to put yourself out there in front of them.

Some tips to get you started for your first trade show:

1.) Find a business to pair up with. Many small business owners are in the same boat. They need clients but don’t always have the resources to spend money or time on a trade show. If you can split the cost with them, you both may be able to swing it. I have a built in partner with Soap Alchemy, but there are plenty of businesses out there who would be happy to do the same.

2.) Ask other businesses for help. At this show, I asked a Wedding Planner, who’s a friend of my partner, for advice. She referred me to a florist she uses in her business and I got two arrangements to use in my booth. She only wanted her contact information displayed. So thanks to Deb Waterkotte from The Planner in Pittsburgh, PA and Sherry from Bettis Floral Inc. in West Mifflin, PA for the help and the lovely flowers.

3.) Be confident in what you know and what you do. People will come to you and all you need to do is be yourself.

4.) Get your display items from the dollar store or use some of your own tables and chairs. I had the benefit of the items from the Soap Alchemy trade shows, but most of these types of shows give you tables and chairs anyway. You just need to cover them and make them look nice.

5.) Smile, be happy and don’t sweat the small stuff. Expect the unexpected, but know that it will all turn out all right. Make a list of what you need and break it into steps. Try not to wait till the last minute, but don’t be surprised if you are up late the night before. You’ll always find something else to do.

6.) If you need help, ask! The USPCA Member Message Board is full of people who can help and if you need to, you can always email me as well if you have any questions! My email is chef...@dinnermagician.com.

7.) Follow Up! You’ve got a list of names of people who are willing to spend money and hopefully a handful of business cards from other area businesses who talk to your potential clients every day. Send out thank you cards and post cards and if you have a newsletter or email list, send your emails to everyone on that list. Not just once, but at least every 2 months for 6 to 8 months after the show. (Just take them off the list if they ask.)

Many of these brides are not getting married for several months, so reminding them of who you are and what you do will keep your name in their minds as they plan their big day. Even after they are married, a card every so often may just get you another cook date or regular client.

And for the business cards you’ve collected, be sure to visit those businesses. Maybe make them lunch, or bake them some cookies. They’ll love you for it, and they won’t hesitate to tell everyone they talk to about you and your great food and the service you provide!

To see more pictures from the show, please click here!