You’ve heard it here first. We are confirming what most nail pros
already believe. And yes, the frustration is the real. Trade Shows suck.
Back in the day, Professional Cosmetology Trade Shows were the great
catalyst for community and innovation within the beauty, hair and nail
industry. Trade Shows were a vibrant space filled with energy and
excitement; attended by interesting people from around the world. It was
the ultimate destination for manufacturers and beauty professionals to
see and be seen for networking, product launches, specialized education,
deep trade discounts and always just a lot of fun. Now many of those
once teeming conventions centers and exhibit halls have lost their
luster and overall appeal with a diminishing number of exhibitors and
professionals in attendance. The atmosphere is dead and the price for
entry is unjustifiably high.
WHY THE TRADE SHOW FORMULA DOESN’T MAKE SENSE
Beauty Trade Shows are failing and facing extinction because they are
out of touch with the needs of the industry. They are unwilling to
change and holding on to old industry standards. For years, organizers
of these shows really took advantage of the manufacturer/exhibitors by
saddling them with excessive surcharges and participation fees. If you
participated as an exhibitor, it was in hopes of future sales. There was
a pay to play mentality and no chance of breaking even. That’s fine if
your beauty brand is backed by a major cosmetics giant. If you weren’t
one of those beauty brands, than you could and would expect to pretty
much hemorrhage money. Organizers used to try to intimidate and use fear
tactics to keep us tethered to the old ways. Instead they should have
asked us and other manufacturers like us what they could do to stay
relevant and keep the industry engaged.
WE STILL WANT TO MEET YOU IN PERSON.
It sounds crazy but how can we help nail pros with their businesses if
we can’t take a step back to see what works and what doesn’t in running
our own businesses. Even though we are in a stronger position than when
we first started, there is no way you can justify Trade Show expenses
for you or for us. We know that it’s hard for nail professionals to
shell out their good money on a poorly organized and poorly attended
show. The purpose for us to go to a Trade Show has been to connect with
nail techs but we’ve found a much better way to do it that is much more
wallet friendly. Gone are the days of paying $200 to get in the door and
standing in line at the entrance for 2 hours even when you’re prepaid
and pre-registered.
SOCIAL MEDIA IS THE ANSWER AND IT’S FREE
We have evolved to meet the needs of our customers. Through social
media, we have created a direct means of communication. We are
connecting with you, the nail pro, every day. Through YN social media
channels, our ability to speak directly to the nail pro, address your
needs and cater to your concerns is now far more extensive than ever
before. We’re here for you whenever you need us, on YouTube, Facebook,
and Instagram. If we haven’t already touched upon a topic that interests
you, don’t hesitate to DM us. We’re at your service and want to know
how we can help.
A BETTER WAY FOR SOME FACE TIME
If you are looking for a better self-investment of the $1000 you might
have paid out to Trade Show attendance, might we suggest our YN One Week
Course? Your return on investment would be a real career game changer.
For what you would spend on a weekend walking the Convention Center
floors; you could secure a full week of one on one training, intensive
learning and yes all the hand-holding, if you need it.
THE ONLY TRADE SHOWS YOU NEED TO KNOW
If you feel like you can’t bring yourself to break with your Trade Show
habit, then here is a short list of the best ones that cater to the
professional nail tech in just the right way. And it’s not because
these are the only ones we actually attend ourselves. The NAILPRO shows
in Sacramento and Pasadena are incredible because the panels and
products are 100% geared for nail artist engagement. You can plan a
working getaway to California for a “hit it and quit it” nail event with
enough goodies to sustain your need connection, classes and commerce.
Admission is affordable and the show promoters make it so we can
basically give tickets away.
We applaud the PREMIERE ORLANDO show for those of you who can’t manage the cross country journey. Trust us, we’ve done a lot of tradeshows and none are better organized or promoted for nail professional or beauty professional attendees. Exhibitors are clustered on the floor based on specialty; so you don’t have to bring that scavenger hunt mentality to map out the four corners of the convention center to hit up all the nail manufacturers; only to find your favorite nail care manufacturer across the street in the Annex in an unmarked building in the far corner obstructed by restroom signage. True Story.