← Spa Marketing Made Easy | Spa Business Growth
Spa Marketing Made Easy | Spa Business Growth
SMME #475 Should You Exhibit at a Spa Trade Show? Behind the Scenes at Be + Well
00:29:45
Loading summary
Transcript1 lines
- [00:03]
A
Well, hello, my dears, and welcome back to the Spa Marketing Made Easy podcast. I am your host, Daniela, and on today's episode, I am taking you behind the scenes of our very first trade show. So, well, very first trade show where we had a booth, our company had a booth. We went to be well in New York at the Javits Center. It was just, you know, a handful of days ago at the time that I am recording this. And it was actually not my first time at that show, but it was my first time as an entrepreneur, my first time, you know, having a booth. But when I was working as director of medical services back at Bellisante, the team and I, some of the gals from Bellisante, we took the train down to New York to go to this show as estheticians, as, you know, spa professionals. And on our way back up to Boston was the exact same day that the Boston Marathon bombing happened. And we were taking the train back up. They stopped the train in Rhode Island. There were police and dogs that got on the train. We were not able to get into South Station. We had to have. Kyle had to come pick me up at some stop in Rhode Island. It was one of those moments where it's just seared in your mind, like a 911 moment or something where you know exactly where you were, exactly what you were doing at that time. And that was the last time that I was at BE well, and I knew that memory. When I think back to the Boston Marathon bombing, I always think of, like the time period of being on lockdown and what that was. But it kind of brought it back up for me when we were going to this show because I was like, gosh, the last time I was here, that was when we were on the train and had to get off in Rhode Island. So very different experience. I mean, very different experience attending as an entrepreneur, having a booth, working the show rather than being attendee of the show. I have a lot of thoughts. I have a lot of lessons learned. I have moments that I'm super proud of, and I have a long list of things that I would do completely differently next time. So I wanted to record this episode for any of you who are considering if you should exhibited a trade show. I know a lot of our listeners are in education or you have your own product lines, whatever it may be. I wanted to kind of give you my experience and also for our listeners who are wondering what a show is, like, is it a benefit for me to attend as an esthetician, to kind of experience the vibe so I'm going to give you kind of my perspective as it's still, still raw. Is it still new and fresh? In my mind, I just got home a couple days ago, so here we go. Now let me, let me begin by setting the stage for you of what a show like this is. Because if you're not familiar with the Be well trade show, I want to just kind of give you a visual. Now it is a wellness and aesthetics industry trade show. And so there are esthetic professionals, there are spa professionals, so estheticians, wellness spa owners. There's also salon, there are a lot of hair people there, which I always look at. Spa and salon, I feel like we're cousins, right? Where we're definitely all in the same kind of space, but they're two very different industries in the way that they're approached. Now there's the attendees and then there's the brands that are serving and supporting these business owners. There's an educational component, there's classes that you can attend. Obviously, great show discounts. If you're looking at bringing a brand on into your spa or just learning more about what is available, what's the next technology that is coming out? So it's this big, beautiful curated marketplace meets education all under one roof. And again, we've got spa and salon professionals kind of anywhere that you fall under that. Many spa owners are attending because they're looking at this as their opportunity to get the best deals of the year on if they're interested in purchasing a piece of equipment or bringing on a skincare line or anything like that. So for us, we thought, okay, well this is exactly the type of people that we are serving. People who are building businesses in the aesthetics and wellness space, people who are passionate about their craft, who are trying to figure out how to grow, how to lead teams, how to make their businesses work for them instead of the other way around. And so when you're walking the trade floor, the booths, they really there's, I mean it was incredible the variety of different booths that were there. So there's obviously like the big skincare lines, the device companies, the software platforms, equipment reps. Most of the floor is occupied by two categories, so devices and skincare. And there's a massive variety of devices. I mean, I saw people getting cupping, there were all kinds of LED devices, there were energy based devices like radio frequency, micro needling, full on like glacial. Was there hydrafacial, Was there all. Any type of device that you can think of that would be used in a spa and then a whole Variety of skin care. And that was really one of the things that kind of made us stand out. And I will get to that in a second. But before I get into a little bit more about the show, I want to kind of back up and tell you, like, how this even happened in the first place, because those of you that know me a little bit better or in some of our programs, you might be surprised to hear that I just decided to go exhibit at a trade show with 35,000 attendees. So one of my favorite things to do at the farm is to sit on our porch, watch the sunrise over the water. The sky turns, like, the most absolutely beautiful shades of pink. You see the reflections in the water. It is so magical. It's so quiet. It's so peaceful. And sitting out there with my morning cup of coffee, it's like one of my absolute favorite ways to start the day. My brain is also the most clear and the most active in the early morning. And last November, I was having one of those mornings on the porch. I was watching it, absolutely incredible sunrise. And I was reflecting on my business. You know, we do that a lot towards the end of the year and really reflect and think about our business. And I was thinking about where I had played it safe over the past decade. And I was asking myself, if I truly wanted to rise to my next level, what did I need to change? Where was I holding myself back? And in that moment, clear as day, I had a thought that I needed to try a trade show. And now here's the thing. I have always avoided trade shows. I really, really, really don't like large groups of people. And trade shows have thousands of them. Be well, had. It was, I believe, 35,000 people, people in attendance. That is a lot of humans in one space. And for someone like me, that can be extremely overwhelming. But it was after that morning sunrise that those thoughts became actions. Those actions eventually landed me on that show floor. And open is my year for 20 is my word for 2026. So I'm open to trying new things. I'm open to failure. I'm open to feedback. I'm open to being a beginner. I'm open to making bold moves because I know that what got me here is not going to get me to where I'm going, and I am ready for that next level. Now, you may have heard or you may have experienced yourself that sometimes you have to slow down to speed up. Well, try 2025 was my year to slow down. It was a year to kind of regroup and get My ducks in a row a year to restructure, to revamp our offerings and really infuse the level of AI that we desired into our programs. We made some very intentional decisions about what we were building and why. I made a choice to intentionally make less revenue last year. I adjusted my lifestyle. I adjusted my offerings. So many things shifted and changed to be able to support our next level. And honestly, it was hard. It was really hard. And as an entrepreneur, there's this pressure that every single year needs to be bigger and better and just constantly growing up. But I can tell you without a shadow of a doubt, a hundred percent certainty that the intentional choices that we made in 2025 are catapulting us forward in 2026. So being open, making that a focus for 2026. That's why I said yes to speaking at Circadia Connect in Vegas in January, kicking off the year that way, speaking in front of 500 spa professionals. That's. That felt like a evening with some girlfriends compared to the Be well show. We hosted our first Spa CEO Intensive of the year in February. That was in Texas. That's why we said yes to the Be well Show. That's why we're doing our next spa CEO intensive in April here in D.C. it's really created a lot of intentionality in 2026 to make sure that we're staying true, being an int Integrity with our focus for the year, which for me is being open. Okay, so let's get back to the Be well show. Why did we decide to have a booth? Great question. And honestly, there's a simple answer, and there's a more layered answer. So the simple answer is our people are there. Right? You want to go where your clients are. So there's spa owners or spa professionals. There's people who are already in our world or people who should be in our world. They walk those aisles. And for us, awareness is everything. So we sell coaching, we sell consulting, we sell transformation. And that kind of sale starts with a relationship, which starts with someone even knowing that we exist. But at auto aesthetics, we're not selling a serum. We're not selling a laser. We're selling a framework. We're selling a way of thinking about running your business, the growth factor framework. And it's actually a lot harder to communicate in a trade show environment than, say, handing someone. Come and try my products. Feel it. Let me educate you on them. Right. You're not handing them a sample. You can't just kind of hand them a business in a box. And it doesn't work that way. So our approach at the show was really about brand awareness and relationship building. So our goal was to get in front of spa owners, introduce ourselves to people who didn't know us yet, and deepen the relationship with people who already did. And we thought a lot about how we wanted to do that in a way that felt aligned with who we are. And for us, that meant a free copy of our magazine. So we. I brought as many magazines as I could carry in my suitcase, and that was one of my lesson learned because we ran out of those magazines so quickly, by the end of the show, we literally had nothing left in our booth. Every single thing was gone. So, I mean, yes, that's a win. Like, there were so many people that wanted our magazine and our materials, but also that went on my debrief form of things that we could absolutely do better. So our magazine, Growth Factor magazine, is packed with real, actionable business content for spot owners. So we have tech trainings in there. We have a marketing strategy of the month. We have our beauty bombs, which were always like a really popular segment here on the podcast, but we're doing a clinical training. We have our CEO corner, which talks a lot about leadership. So it's basically a physical representation of our teaching style and our philosophy. And it felt like a great, great value packed piece of content that's going to help these individuals that got the magazine to provide value to their business, to educate them on something in our industry that wasn't just a straight up, you know, sales pitch. We want to build the relationship first. We want to make sure that people that are coming into our world are aligned with our beliefs as well. Okay. So that piece of content starts the relationship and it gets our voice and our values into someone's hands in a tangible and beautiful way. So that was our strategy going on, going in. And by the way, if you're listening and you are not at the trade show, or if you were at the show and you missed our booth and you would like a free copy of Growth Factor magazine, we've got a link below this episode where you can enter your information. You've got to be US based. So as long as you are in the us, go ahead and fill that in and we will mail you a physical copy of Growth Factor magazine so you can check it out yourself. Okay, so let's talk about the show, because the show itself, it was, it was great, right? I'm. I'm tired right now. I can tell you straight up, it was exhausting, but it was Great. I learned so, so much. Circadia was there. Circadia had a massive presence. They had a huge booth that was just basically like an eyesight. I could see their booth from mine and it was packed all day, every day. If you have not checked out the Circadia social media, they did a great job documenting the show. Michael was out there in Times Square asking people about sunscreen. He's phenomenal. He's such a big presence. And you know, Circadia is such a well loved brand in our industry. It showed Their entire team is incredible. I loved connecting with each of them again and so it was just another great touch point for me to understand and deepen the relationship with them and understand their culture. They are, they, you know, their slogan is that they're always for the esthetician. And man did that show. It was really incredible to see them there. Also. Mango Mint was there. I am such a lover of Mango Mint. They have been a strategic partner of ours for a very long time. They were giving out mango mimosas. They were giving out these like mango keychains as well, which I brought to home for my kids and they loved. But they were there doing demos. Their booth looked incredible. I got to connect with so many members of their team and it just was so great to again have that in person connection. And their whole approach was, you know, we want to, we want to show people who we were, who we are. We want to build the relationship as well. And for me that is just, I just love that. I think it's so incredibly important to have that level of connection and care. Arca aesthetics was there. My good old buddy Ryan Arca and he has a new company, they have a radio frequency microneedling device and they're doing a phenomenal business model which makes getting an energy based piece of equipment much more affordable, much more accessible where you're not just dropping a ton of money all up front. Really, really interesting model. So he was there. I got to connect with him. And then the BO right next to us was such a cool. I, I feel like so happy and lucky that we got to be next to them. It's a new acne makeup startup. They are called Delicate Matter. You guys, their branding is incredible. It was like such a family business. The there was the founder and her husband and then her sister. They were all there working the booth. They had this really incredible story of having rosacea and then doing all the research and getting, you know, finding some ingredients that worked really well. It's cosmetically elegant. I bought some for myself. But Loved seeing them. So if you are a Face Reality account and treat acne and you're looking for a really good acne line, they're called Delicate Matter. Definitely check them out, do your research. They were incredible. So just that aspect alone of being able to meet new companies, connect with new brands, build deeper relationships with existing brands, that has so much value longer term. If you hear me talking about being the mayor of your town and building strategic partnerships, this was my version of that. But the part that was so emotional, like in the best way, was that we ran into so many different people who had been in our world over, you know, the past 12 years. And there were people who maybe they were in one of our earliest programs if they were in Spa Retail Rockstar, or if they were in a early version of Growth Factor, if they were in our spa manager certification. It was so lovely to see them in person to give them a hug, to hear an update about their company. Gosh, I loved it. I loved it. I loved it, I loved it. And I just want to say thank you to each of you who came up, said hi, gave me a hug, gave me an update, took a picture, introduced yourself. If you'd been in our world but we had not met in person, it was so special for me. I loved introducing you to my husband. That was. He was, you know, on team at a work in the booth with me. So that was really fun. But it's just so special to see someone in person and it makes those zoom connections so much better. So there were a lot of current clients, we saw a lot of active clients. People that are in the middle of growth factor right now and getting to go deeper with them. It, you know, in kind of on a personal level and not in this very, like, structured call setting was really, really great. And I just feel like when you have those connections, you build a deeper trust. So if you are thinking of having a booth and you're serving your clients any opportunity that you get to be able to meet them in person. And same thing, if you are an aesthetic professional and you're just wanting to build a deeper relationship with your brand, the brands that you are carrying in your practice trade show is such a great opportunity to be able to do that. Okay, so let me just kind of debrief where I'm at. Overall, I would say I'm very proud of us. I'm very proud of myself. I'm very proud of my husband for going, for being there. I did, like, full disclosure, we totally went to bed at like 8 o' clock the. There were invites and opportunities to go and have dinners and do happy hours and things like that. And I was like, I just need to be flat. I need to recharge. And so, yes, I did that. But going out and doing something that was so far out of my comfort zone, there was a lot of mess, there was a lot of imperfection. But even though there was so much mess and imperfection, and even though I have an entire page of notes shout out to my husband Kyle, who was on like debrief duty, he was documenting all the things we can do better. Next time we showed up, we went out there, we put our brand on the floor and that is what matters. So I want you to think about how you're showing up. What are the things that are holding yourself back? You know, if you really reflect on your business and you look at your goals and your vision and you say like, I want to get to the next level. I want to do this thing, reflect and look at like, what is it that's actually holding you back? You don't have to do it perfectly. You take imperfect action. Guys, there's so many things that I can do better, significantly better on the next time. Number one, I can bring more materials than I think I need and then I can bring more. The first 90 minutes of the show, we ran out faster than I ever anticipated. Great problem, right? Great problem. But it was really, it made the rest of the show challenging because people, you want something physical to give them right there. So that was frustrating. But still documented it, right? You just have no idea how quickly things are going to move at a show like that. Number two, have a clear pre show strategy. I think that we could have done a lot better in our marketing of letting people know that we were going to be at the show, letting people know that they could get a free copy of the magazine, you know, organizing with other vendors there. So if you are going to do the show, give yourself, you know, market it in advance that you're going to be there and really have like a clear strategy. So we did planning. You know, Christy did a great job putting together a like logistical spreadsheet of all the stuff that I needed to know. So it was really good for me to be able to find our Wi Fi or like the trade show map. But I think on the marketing side of how are we communicating that we're going to be at this show, we could have done a way better job. And even researching the speakers or educators or what brands are going to be there and who specifically Do I want to connect with. So definitely have a pre show. Whether you're having a booth or you're an attendee, there's so it's like sensory overload. There's so much going on there. So, like, do your research and make that trip as productive as possible. Number three, have a post show strategy as well. You're going to get a lot of connections, right? And so much of the magic, it actually happens after the show. The people that you're following up with, the conversations that you're having. I did find it really helpful. Or you know, I haven't used business cards for years, right. Because everything is digital. But I, I feel like at the show having business cards is very helpful. So definitely that's on the list for next time as well. And number four, like, if you are going to have a booth, think about the booth experience, not just the booth. So because we were selling coaching and transformation, we want to really like. When I thought about it more, I was like, you know what? We get people into our world through this podcast. That's how people get to know us. That's how people learn our teaching style. That's how people connect with us and decide if we are the right company for them. It's a way to build a relationship. And so I would put a lot more focus on our podcast and our print materials to let them, to let everybody know about the ways that they can get to know us better so that they can take the time. Right. Because it is a two way street. There's a lot of incredible coaches in our industry and I really love seeing more women and men, but most of the women who are coaches or consultants, they are women, right. They're stepping up, they're leading and they are doing their best to elevate this industry as a whole. So anytime I see a woman step up and into that leadership space and say, I want to teach, I want to better our industry, I want to elevate our industry, I want to help the next generation of esthetic professionals. Oh my gosh. Like, I love that and I will support that in the biggest way. Right. Because we are all in the same industry and a rising tide floats all boats. So, you know, should you attend a trade show? Yes, yes, you absolutely should, but with intention. If you go and are just wandering, you're going to get very overwhelmed. There's so many people so going to just to go without a strategy, without goals, without a plan for before and after. You're going to have a good time, you're going to meet some great people, but you're going to leave wondering, was it worth that investment? My time away from work, my the ticket, cost of the show, all of that. So go with intention. Go knowing who you want to meet, what you want to achieve, how you're going to follow up, how you're going to show up. That is where the ROI lives. That is where you're going to build the deeper relationships and the long term relationships. So for me, be well was absolutely worth it. Even with the things I would do differently. I came home with relationships, with reconnections, with brand visibility and a really clear picture of how I'm going to do this better next time. So that's how I want you to think about it. That's how I want you to think about your first attempt of anything that you do in your business. Not as a measure of perfection, but as a data point. Get your baseline, show up, pay attention, learn, and do it better next time. That is the spa CEO mindset in action. Okay, so if you attended, be well and you want to connect, come find us over on Instagram. We are aesthetics. If you want a copy of Growth Factor magazine, we've got a link below this episode that is for us spas only, so please remember that. But if you are a US based aesthetic professional, you want a copy of our magazine, Enter your information below. We'll be so happy to send it to you. Thank you so much for listening. Thank you so much for hanging out with me today. And if this episode provided value to your day, if this gave you some valuable information, would you please take a moment to leave us a review? We are getting closer and closer to our 500th episode and my personal goal is to get 500 reviews before our 500th episode. We are inching right along, but I would be so grateful if you could go and do that favor for us. All right, my dears, thank you so much and I will catch you in the next episode.