An expo is a great way to get the Mompreneur community together and share ideas. There are many elements to planning an expo, from figuring out who your target audience is to decide what will be exhibited at the expo.
Business Mentoring
One of the most important parts of an expo is that it’s educational. You want those attending your event to gain something from being there. It could be as simple as taking away a new business idea or as complex as completely changing their outlook on starting a business.
Either way, you need to have experts available throughout your expo that can guide mompreneurs through a tough business decision or explain a concept they don’t understand. Sometimes it’s possible to get local experts in for the day, but more often than not, you will have to rely on online services.
Mom-to-Mom Support
This is one of the most important parts of an expo. While many attendees will come for advice from experts, others will come to meet other moms with businesses and learn from their experiences. Every mom could use as mompreneurs a little encouragement and acknowledgment that they can do it! What better place to get this than from other mompreneurs who have been there and done that?
Exhibits
This column will contain actual knowledge about starting a business. Whether you’re brand new or just need a refresher, the exhibits and the people behind them should be able to give advice and answer questions about how they started their business.
Of course, it’s not actually possible for you to start an exhibit at your expo because the focus needs to be on learning; however, you should make sure there are enough booths from a professional trade show booth designer for everyone in the community.
Entertainment & Food
It’s always nice to make sure that attendees have something fun to do while they are learning! There are tons of different activities (like raffles or games, for example), but the food is the most important thing here. Your attendees won’t be able to focus without having at least coffee and donuts.
If it’s possible, consider hiring someone to cook up some great food. It is rarely inexpensive, but mompreneurs will remember that expo more than it would if they didn’t get a hot meal when they walked in.
Local Community Businesses
As mentioned earlier, expos should be educational. This applies to businesses in the area, too. You can help get more exposure for these local companies by giving them a space at your expo; contact them and see if they want to join you!
If they are willing, find out what kind of services or products they offer and make sure they have a small exhibitor table set up somewhere where mompreneurs will see it. Make sure their name tags include their company website so mompreneurs can visit later and see what other business ideas might catch their eye.
The Details
This is another column that has helpful information, but it won’t be directly related to starting a business. It could include some raffle ideas, but it could also include things like how to troubleshoot for unknown problems. Ensure you have plenty of phones available so moms can call their spouse, children’s school, or house-sitter if there is ever an emergency.
You should also give out the number of your local police department in case someone needs immediate help. Lastly, make sure there are restrooms present! Sometimes people forget that they won’t be able to go home and change their kid’s diapers; they might need to use the restroom at some point during the day.
BY TECHIE MAMMA