Well, it has been a week since my very first Gift trade show and to say it was interesting is an understatement.  Here are just a few high / low lights from the show.

1.  I was so thankful to have Eric in the next booth, he is a trade show veteran and gave me a 5 minute tutorial on what to expect.  I hadn't even thought of minimums, quoting shipping prices, selling my samples etc.

2.  I had a vision in my head of who the typical buyers would be - my vision was WRONG!  There were quite a few men purchasing items also senior citizens.

3.  People buying for their own use - this surprised me, as a retailer I would have a hard time using my license to purchase items that I wouldn't be selling in my own store.  Don't get me wrong, people that bought for themselves in time may purchase for their retail store.  But even my own mother pays me retail price and not wholesale price!

4.  So many people were excited to see Polish Pottery, hopefully this will bring more sales for both wholesale & retail

5.  Out of town retailers - I made sales to retailers from PA, NY, TN & CA.  This was great, but hard for me to visit them.  The PA, NY & TN clients will be turned over to someone else to take care of and handle any future order's.

It was a very exhausting 4 days, but the experience that I gained was immeasurable.  I will continue to offer wholesale to retailers.  I will be working on perfecting my system and move forward, isn't that what owning a business and opportunities are all about?