Hey guys,
Well, I’ve got 3 bikes in various states of completion while watching the clock slowly tick down towards MADE this year. It’s my first bike show as a vendor, first time in Portland, and first time getting to meet a lot of you West coasters!
I figured it’d be nice to start a discussion thread to see who’s going, how’s everyone’s prep, etc. Also I was hoping to take this opportunity for anyone who stumbles by this thread to weigh in if you’ve done shows in the past, MADE or otherwise, and could maybe give some advice:
- What was something you did before/during/after the show that was either super worth it, or not worth it at all?
- Tips for prep, things to bring, logistics to consider
- Best hot dogs in and around Zidell Yards
- Best strategy for networking while also manning your own booth
- Small details to make your fledgling business stand out or not look like you fully work out of a basement (even though you do)?
Excited to hear everyone’s plans! I’m bringing my gravel model, a prototype for my integrated road model, and a singlespeed CX race bike that’s fully blinged out for the hell of it.
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Best advice I can give, leave Monday. Pack up at the end of the show Sunday, store your stuff away wherever it needs to go, then go have a nice quiet dinner. You’ll appreciate the silence and it’ll give you some time to reflect on the previous 3 days.
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Good tip and I figured as much- planning to head out Monday like you said. I can only hope being that exhausted means it’s all worth the hassle!
The show is exhausting, but so much fun! You won’t regret it!
Some great advice I got before my first made. Set your expectations: you will not sell a bike at the show. You might sell some t-shirts or whatever other small swag you have, but don’t expect to sell anything big.
But, you will likely plant a seed that might grow into a sale. I think I can trace maybe four sales back to people I met at the show.
Also, bring stickers. I had 300 of them last year, and ran out on the last day. I’m bringing 500 this year.
And the industry ride is a really cool way to meet people right before the show. I highly recommend attending. Bring a proper bike for it. It’s slow pace, and no-drop, but a few miles are on gravel service road.
The first year, I considered doing it on a BikeTown rental bike. I’m glad I didn’t.
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This is awesome thanks so much for weighing in! To your point, I’m really not going to directly sell bikes. My main goals are:
- Network within the industry- suppliers, manufacturers, brands
- Make connections with media folks- make them aware of my existence so they might deign to cover me some time
- See a bunch of amazing work that inspires me/pushes me to develop new interesting things
I think to that end, I should be good. I’ve read the previous (great) discussions on this board about whether the finances really make sense, but I think for someone like me who just launched this year and is trying to just get on anyone’s radar, it’ll be a help.
Definitely printing more stickers then! I figure that’s as good as cash in a setup like this. Probably gonna leave with 500 new ones.
I was wondering about the industry ride, I figure I’ll just use one of my show bikes and hope I don’t do anything stupid since i’m already travelling with 3 and i’ll have no room for anything else!
Appreciate all the feedback so far- anyone who’s attended other shows would be welcome to pipe up with any other tips!