Should I exhibit my idea at an invention or industry trade show?
Q: Should I exhibit my idea at an invention or industry trade show?
A: It depends.
IF you have a well thought out plan, then the answer is yes. You need to
have your product, marketing plan, and distribution plan completed before
exhibiting. If you have not done this yet, then it’s probably not a good idea to
exhibit. “Thieves” attend these shows fishing for interesting ideas, and if you
are not ready to go to market, they can steal your idea and beat you to it.
Believe me – I know from experience! I took my Ab Roller to a fitness trade
show without having a well thought out plan and within a few weeks, a
company in China was producing a knock-off of my product. Thank goodness
my Ab Roller was such a big success; it afforded me the cash flow needed to
legally shut down all the copy cats.
If you do NOT have a carefully thought out plan, then you’d be better off going
to the trade show as an attendee. You can check out what other companies are
exhibiting, how they are exhibiting, talk to people, and decide whether it would
be worth exhibiting at that show in the future. You can learn a lot as an attendee.
I hope this helps. Good luck!
Think, Create, Prosper,
Don
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Thousands of inventors are scammed every year. Learn how to steer clear of invention scams. 
Hi Don,
Do you do joint ventures? I have really good new product ideas with commercial appeal but although I have been through some good educational material on how to go about conducting the business, I am scared out of my mind about making a complete mess of it and not being successful. I also do not trust the general population of companies that offer to make you big bucks. I would more trust doing business with someone like you if you are interested.
Regards,
Tony