As I later learned, the first day of the conference has the most traffic and engagement by far at the vendor tables. I was determined our vendor table was going to be set up and ready for the adoption attorneys when they showed up on the first day of the event. And, frankly, I didn’t have the money to buy a last-minute flight on another airline, even if there had been another option. I couldn’t take another flight that could get me to Sanibel in time for the conference.
The airline could put me on a flight the next day, but that meant I would miss the first day of the conference. The Denver airport was closed and all flights going through Denver, including my flight, were canceled. However, we discovered there was a winter storm in Denver, where our flight had a layover. So, I rented a large screen monitor in Sanibel, which back then probably weighed more than 50 pounds, and arranged for it to be delivered at the hotel.Īs the day of the conference arrived, we went to the airport to catch our flight. Monitors at that time were far too big, expensive, and delicate to reasonably take on a flight as checked baggage. Back then, online advertising was very new. I wanted to show our site to the conference attendees, so they could visualize what their listings and advertising would look like and where it would be placed on the site. So, I used my credit card to buy flights, purchase a vendor table, and reserve a hotel room. And, I needed their advertising dollars to get my business through that year. I knew if I missed that opportunity to meet those adoption attorneys it would be another year before I had the opportunity again.
But my business at that moment was based on an advertising model, and I knew many of my potential advertisers were going to be at that conference. At this time, I was a college student with no money. Just two months later, in April 1997 the American Academy of Adoption Attorneys was holding a conference in Sanibel, Florida. In today’s episode, I’m going to tell you a story about the first business conference I attended, and the challenge we faced. They find a way to overcome the challenges and problems they constantly face and to get it done and make it happen. Are you a great problem solver? Great entrepreneurs are often great problem solvers.
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