Interactive floor plans, what’s the big deal? by: James Lemke CEO, BoothBoss

Ok, so you’ve been successfully running your trade show with an old PDF floor plan. Your Exhibitors seem happy, and your show generally sells out every year. Why go through the pain and change of adding floor planning technology to your event? Here are your top 10 reasons why it’s becoming increasingly important to have an interactive floor plan.

1. Exhibitors are becoming more technology savvy, and they want the marketing advantages with attendees that only an “live” floor plan can provide. It demonstrates to your Exhibitors your commitment to making your event a successful one, for not only you but them as well. That helps insure exhibitor loyalty in good times and in bad.
2. A live floor plan will drive traffic to your web site, and who doesn’t want more traffic on their sites? More traffic means more promotional opportunities for your organization and that means greater efficiencies and revenue opportunities leading to profit.
3. Live interactive floor plans allow for “live” URL web site addresses for your Exhibitors. Having a direct link to Exhibitors web sites promoted to attendees prior to and after the show puts your show front and center.
4. 365 days a year exposure. Smart event managers have learned to keep their floor plans up, promoted and “live” after their shows are over. Spread that interesting fact to potential Exhibitors and watch your Exhibitor booth sales explode.
5. With interactive floor plans, come social media opportunities. You can’t promote your show with Twitter, QR bar-coding and Facebook, with an old antiquated floor plan, it’s contradictory. Social media and information gathering is all the craze, and your exhibitors are drawn into that hype as much as your attendees.
6. Do it for yourself. Interactive floor plans partnered with an online registration system makes administrating your show more efficient, helps make sales and provides you with back office support meaning less administrative headaches and ultimately a better bottom line.
7. Speaking of profit, how valuable would it be to make immediate floor plan changes for free? Most interactive floor plan companies, like BoothBoss allow for numerous floor plan changes without delay and without cost, including adding more space because you’re sold out! No delays and free, that’s a partnership any event organizers can get behind.
8. Promotional opportunities within the floor plan. Interactive floor plans allow for sponsorship ads directly on the floor plan itself. Sponsorship ads (with live URL’s) means revenue for your event.
9. Attendees are the key to Exhibitor happiness and your bottom dollar. Attendees can search out Exhibitors prior to the show to better plan their experience at your show. Interactive floor plans allow attendees search options for exhibitors, specific products and services, including printing out promotions to attend your event. That’s a fact that will help drive attendance.
10. A live interactive floor plan indicating sold space, available space and who’s exhibiting often creates a sense of competition and urgency among exhibitors. Competition for space means more immediate sales and quite often upgrades in booth selections.

Technology is coming, don’t fight it, embrace it and prove to your Exhibitors you’re on the leading edge of their success. Change doesn’t have to be painful, embrace the technology of an interactive floor plan and you’ll quickly wonder how you ever managed without it.

Congratulations to The Peachtree Health & Fitness Expo on a completely sold out show!

Atlanta Track Club and the Peachtree Health & Fitness Expo gained 23 booths from their 2010 Expo. Boothboss is excited to be a part of this awesome event and would like to wish all of the runners and exhibitors the best of luck!

Take a look at the floorplan and if your in the area stop in and enjoy. July 2-4 2011

https://boothboss.com/floorplan/index.php?showID=208

Take a few minutes and vote on your favorite T-Shirt

http://ajc.upickem.net/engine/Welcome.aspx?contestid=27651

Harleys Heroes Motorcycle Ride June 18th

Check out the ride to help the Never Forgotten Honor Flight. If you want to spend the day enjoying the beautiful Wisconsin views or just hang out, have a beer and listen to some great music please check out the link below.

To get registered go to.

https://www.registrationboss.com/accounts/login/?next=/harleys-heroes-motorcycle-ride/orders

RegistrationBoss announces local partnership with Never Forgotten Honor Flight. Never Forgotten Honor Flight has a very simple mission: “We want to fly as many Veterans as are able to Washington to experience “their” memorial and a few other sights and sounds of the nation’s capital, at no cost to our Veterans”.

Jim Campbell and Mike Thompson Central Wisconsin co-founders for Honor Flight have worked since the conception of the chapter to make their Honor Flight one of the best and most active in the nation. Their success can be found in the many flights, smiles and appreciative Veterans who were fortunate to make the journey to Washington D.C.

When Jim Lemke, President and CEO of RegistrationBoss had an opportunity to affiliate and help support this cause through an on line registration system supporting event fund raisers held for Honor Flight, he jumped at the chance. “RegistrationBoss has had the distinct opportunity to write software designed to make event managers jobs easier, more profitable, and to take advantage of viral marketing opportunities in today’s trendy social media arena.” “When I had a chance to affiliate our registration software in support of this great cause, I couldn’t write the program fast enough” says Lemke, CEO and President for RegistrationBoss.

Now RegistrationBoss is in discussion with many different organizations and fund raisers in support of Honor Flight and other non-profit fund raising organizations. None more important than the upcoming “Harley Heroes” motorcycle run and block party organized by Mid-Wisconsin Bank of Wausau. Go to http://www.midwisc.com and check out the Honor Flight link for this fun event with an honorable cause.

If you have an event that could benefit from an online registration system Jim Lemke can be reached at 715-345-6599.

Peachtree Road Race

The Peachtree Health and Fitness Expo on July 2-3

serves as the kick-off to the AJC Peachtree Road Race on the Fourth of July. The Expo features vendors from the health and fitness industry including running apparel and gear, nutritional products and injury prevention. Check out who's exhibiting

https://boothboss.com/floorplan/index.php?showID=208

2011 AJC Peachtree Road Race

The AJC Peachtree Road Race is an Atlanta institution. The event, which attracts runners and walkers from all over the US, is a great way to celebrate the Fourth of July. For those not running or walking in the event, there are opportunities to take part in the festivities by becoming a volunteer or cheering on the 60,000 participants.

http://www.peachtreeroadrace.org/participant-information/general-information

We look forward to seeing you on July 4!

Boothboss is proud to be involved with 41 Years of history.

Peachtree Through the Years 1970-2011

On July 4, 1970, 110 runners gathered at the old Sears parking lot on the corner of Peachtree and Roswell Road. The group, now known as the “Original 110,” ran 6.2 miles through Atlanta to Central City Park in what would go down in history as the inaugural Peachtree Road Race.

• 1971 - The first of the now famous Peachtree T-Shirts are handed out at the end of the race.
• 1976 - The Atlanta Journal-Constitution becomes the title sponsor.
• 1978 - Race finish is moved to Piedmont Park in front of the Bath House to accommodate the 6,500+ runners.
• 1980 - Race is capped at 25,000 participants. The limit is set due to the congestion on the course where it entered the park.
• 1982 - The Shepherd Center’s Wheelchair Division is added. Since then the event has produced several world record-breaking performances by participants in the wheelchair division.
• 1985 - Julia Emmons becomes the Executive Director of the Atlanta Track Club and the Director of the AJC Peachtree Road Race. She will remain the director for the next 22 Peachtrees. The AJC also comes back as title sponsor and will remain title sponsor through the present.
• 1987 - First AJC Peachtree Jr. is held.
• 1990 - New race cap of 40,000 is announced.
• 1992 - Race cap increases to 45,000 and race fills in nine days.
• 1995 - Race cap increases to 50,000, and the first AJC Peachtree Road Race T-shirt Design Contest is held. Carle Wattenberg, III is the winning designer.
• 1998 - Race cap increases to its current limit of 55,000 participants.
• 1999 - Race finish moves to 10^th Street and Charles Allen Drive due to sewer construction inside the park. The finish will remain there for the next eight years.
• 2004 - First overseas race is held in Baghdad.
• 2006 - After 22 years, Julia Emmons directs her last AJC Peachtree Road Race and retires from the Atlanta Track Club.
• 2007 - Tracey Russell takes over for Emmons as Executive Director of the Atlanta Track Club and directs her first AJC Peachtree Road Race. First USA Men’s 10 km Championship is held in conjunction with the race.
• 2008 - Due to the drought, race cannot finish in Piedmont Park and is successfully moved to Juniper Street and Ponce de Leon Ave.
• 2009 - For the first time every participant is electronically timed and race finish returns to 10^thStreet.
• 2010 - Start waves are assigned by performance, expanding from nine time groups to 20 start waves. An official number transfer system is also implemented.
• 2011- Race cap increases to 60,000. Online lottery system is implemented for registration.

6 Small Things You Can Do When You Lack Discipline

Post written by Leo Babauta.

One of the biggest problems people face is the lack of discipline — they have goals or habits they want to achieve, but lack that discipline needed to stick with it.

Then we beat ourselves up about it. We feel crappy because we can’t stick with it.

And that leads to more failure, because we’re forming a mindset that we don’t have the necessary discipline.

Here’s what to do when you face a situation like this:

1. Forgive yourself. You aren’t perfect. No one is. Realize that beating yourself up will only make things worse. Take a few slow, deep breaths and let it go. Forgive yourself. And move on.

2. Realize that discipline is an illusion. While discipline is a common concept, it doesn’t actually exist. It’s not a thing you can actually do. Think about it: people say discipline is pushing yourself to do something you don’t want to do. But how do you do that? What skill is required? There isn’t a skill — it’s just forcing yourself to do something you don’t want to do. And that requires …some kind of motivation. Without motivation, you won’t be able to force yourself to do anything. So motivation is the key concept — and this is something that’s real, that you can actually learn how to do.

3. Focus on motivation. What’s your motivation for pursuing the goal or habit? How will you sustain the motivation when you struggle? Have very strong motivations for doing something, and write them down. Commit publicly. When things get tough, remind yourself of your motivation. Focus on it. It’ll pull you along — that’s more powerful than trying to focus on the push of discipline.

4. Make it easy. Discipline is tough because whatever the task or habit you’re trying to do is tough. Instead, make it easy. Remove barriers. Having a hard time exercising? Make it ridiculously easy, by only exercising for 5 minutes. What use is exercising for 5 minutes? You’re creating the habit, not getting yourself into shape overnight. The 5 minutes of exercise will have only a tiny impact on your health, but it makes exercise super easy. If you can do that 30 days in a row, you now have an exercise habit. Hate waking up early to go to the gym? Do it at home. Do it during lunch or after work.

5. Focus on enjoyment. It’s hard to push yourself — to have discipline — when you hate doing something. So find something enjoyable about the activity. If you don’t look forward to exercise, find some good music, or a workout partner who you can have a nice conversation with, or a peaceful setting in nature that is just beautiful. And focus on that enjoyable aspect. Hate doing your paperwork? Find a peaceful sanctuary where you can do the paperwork and enjoy yourself. Maybe have a nice cup of tea or coffee, play some nice music. And focus on the enjoyment.

6. Repeat. You’ll almost inevitably slip up sometime, no matter how good you are. Unfortunately, people often take this to mean they don’t have discipline, and they just beat themselves up and give up. Well, it’s just a bump in the road. Get up, dust yourself off, and get going again. Start from Step 1 and start all over.

Custer Street Fair! June 18-19 327 exhibitors! WOW!

The fair began in 1972 on historic Custer Avenue named after General George Armstrong Custer in gratitude for his service to the Union during the Civil War. Each year since then artists, craftspeople, antique dealers, restauranteurs, entertainers and the business community get together with 60,000 attendees for this award-winning Northshore tradition.

Custer's Last Stand, or as the locals call it, the Custer Fair is a function of Evanston Festival Theatre, Inc., a thirty-three year old not-for-profit corporation. In addition to producing Custer's Last Stand it also has undertaken the restoration of the Main St. Metra train station. In addition to providing excellent commuter services the station will function as a cultural center called, The Evanston Arts Depot. The Evanston Arts Depot is the home of another Evanston Festival Theatre, Inc. enterprise - the Piccolo Theatre, a professional ensemble-based theatre company. Go to the Piccolo Theatre web site to see the offerings for the current season. 

http://www.custerfair.com/

It's getting hot in here!

From Habanero to Jalapeño the time has come for the Annual National Fiery Foods & Barbecue Show taking place on March 4-6, 2011. Get ready for Voodoo Queen Hot Sauce, Hot Mama's, and G's Gourmet Food!

To visit the Fiery Foods website click here

Click here to find your favorite vendors!

Congratulations to all the participants apart of 26.2 with Donna The National Marathon to Finish Breast Cancer

The fourth annual 26.2 with Donna The National Marathon to Finish Breast Cancer was held on February 13, 2011 at 7:30am! The Donna 26.2 Health and Fitness was underway as well. Congratulations to everyone who participated and made it through the marathon.

Super Bowl XLV

BoothBoss headquarters is centrally located in Wisconsin which is best known for cheese, cold, and the Green Bay Packers. With that we say loud and proud GO PACK GO- Super Bowl XLV!!!

2011 Wausau Area Builders Association Home Show!

February 4th - 6th

Located at the new Patriot Center, North Central Wisconsin's largest event and conference center

Click here to locate vendors in the new layout!

Attend the 3rd Largest Wine & Grape Industry Trade Show!

Coming Up February 4^th – 7^th

2011 Midwest Wine & Grape Conference

St. Charles Convention Center, St. Charles, MO

New location! The St. Charles Convention Center in St. Charles, Missouri is conveniently located along Interstate 70, just 10 minutes from Lambert-St. Louis International Airport. This new location will make it easier for people all over the heartland wine region to attend the conference.

One Stop Shop! All your needs, from viticulture and enology to marketing and equipmentare taken care of here at the Midwest Show.

Two-Day Trade Show! We offer an extensive two day trade show as well as multi-track sessions moderated by leading experts.

New this year! We have added an additional day of specialized sessions, including Tasting Room Profitability and Wine Club Summit.

This is an event you don't want to miss!

Congratulations to Southern New England Bridal!

Congratulations to Southern New England Bridal on a successful 2011 show! With signing up 139 exhibitors and 1592 attendees we're looking forward to what's in store for 2012!

Trend Setting Sponsorship Ideas!

Trying to keep up withe ever changing trends? Try adding a new sponsorship to your show and increase traffic flow and attendee response.

Oxygen Bar Sponsorship - Oxygen bars are a real pick me up and increase traffic flow at tradeshows and conferences. A very popular option with attendees that promotes a breath of fresh air, and a unique experience.

Seated Massage Bar Sponsorship- The philosophy behind Massage Bar is taking a massage mainstream and coming out from behind closed doors. Making massages visible, accessible, fun and healthy. Add logo to massage station, increase foot traffic, and relax!