CHA-Winter 2007 Countdown (10 weeks!): Lessons From My First CHA
Since we are approaching the huge sales of the Thanksgiving shopping weekend, my first countdown entry is going to be to share the two vital lessons that I learned at my first CHA experience in Winter 2005. If you are a CHA first-timer, you may want to add some things to your Black Friday shopping list to help you survive a grueling few days on the show floor. I learned these lessons the hard way - don't put yourself through that if you don't have to!
The first neccessity for walking a show floor (or standing in a booth) for several days is comfortable shoes. The first time, I wore business-appropriate dress shoes and by the end of the day my feet were in agony despite the fact that the shoes were quite comfortable at the start of the day. Painful feet will affect your entire demeanor and make it difficult to concentrate on conducting business effectively. You may look great but if your ability to do what you are there to do - smile and greet customers, quickly move through the show floor and pay attention to information from vendors, or whatever - is compromised, then the footwear is not serving you well.
My new rule is that I won't wear it on the show floor if I wouldn't consider spending a day walking through the Disney parks in it, an especially appropriate rule for this CHA considering the Convention Center is within sight of Disneyland! A day spent traversing the convention center floor on business is just as hard on your feet as a day spent hiking the concrete avenues of Disneyland. Give your feet a break!
So what can you wear that will help your feet and not look like you are preparing for a marathon - even though you really are? Thanks to the rise of fashion-designed athletic shoes and the skate athletic shoe lines, there are plenty of choices of athletic shoes in dark colors like these from Puma that look more fashionable than the white Nikes that I wear everyday to chase my three year-old.
And there is another part of your body that can suffer from mistreatment on a show floor and interfere with your ability to do what you came there to do: your shoulders. Especially if you are walking the show floor visiting booths and picking up catalogs to peruse later, you can quickly accumulate a lot of weight to haul around. Using a shoulder tote will quickly result in exhausted and aching shoulders (and a sore back) and probably an overstuffed bag as well. I certainly won't make that mistake again! A shoulder briefcase may be appropriate for a business event and hold your necessities for the day but it will feel heavier as the day goes on even if you don't add anything more to it, let alone stuff it with catalogs and other papers.
Instead, ease the burden on your shoulders and back, keep your hands more available for shaking hands and examining displays, and give yourself a bit more hauling room at the same time with a rolling tote. These are available today in many different sizes and formats for business travelers, from small briefcases to laptop totes and even overnight business bags. Find one that will accommodate what you expect to need for your days on the show floor and that has a comfortable handle height for you to pull. Your shoulders and back will thank you!
Give your body a break at CHA. Treat it well so that it help you do what you came there to do, instead of distracting you from the job at hand - helping build the crafts industry!
