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The Frustration Is Real...Why Do Trade Shows Suck

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.