a4uexpo Don’t Panic?

17 days to go. Quite honestly, I’m terrified. When we first decided to exhibit at this years expo, it was a no-brainer. We’re an affiliate orientated company, it’s the place to set out your stall, literally!

Then we badgered Matt into letting us launch our Top Secret Project as one of the sessions. We had to convince Matt it wasn’t just going to be a self-advertising puff piece, that we actually had something valuable to show the conference attendees. I’m pleased to say he obviously thought we had something interesting, as there we are, Platinum Room 4, Day 1 at 2pm.

Never mind an unreasonable aversion to public speaking (I assume I won’t like it as I can’t ever remember having cause to do it before), our Top Secret Project has grown several limbs since we first started it. I’d like to tell you it’s 90% finished at this point, but it seems to be always 90% finished at any given point. Whenever we settle on something, another opportunity to improve/radically alter something else pops up and off we go again. While I’m sure we’ll have some kind of finished product at the Expo, it’s now slightly terrifying that it might not go down well with our audience. Call it paranoia, but suddenly the doubts are creeping in!

On top of all this is the ever increasing number of deadlines involved in being an exhibitor and speaker. Today I spent most of the afternoon going over drafts for our stand design. “Put a big logo in the middle” was my KISS approach. Apparently simple isn’t always best, our designer reassures me. At some point next week we’re to hand in a first draft of our “launch” presentation. The week after, our final draft. At this point I have zero words and can barely open Power Point.

We’ve also to decide what furniture / fittings to have on our stand. Daily emails from various suppliers offering desks, laptops, plasma TV’s and much more only serve to confuse this Expo virgin. If you come by our stand and we don’t even have a chair, my apologies!

Like Fraser, this year really is my first Expo, having similarly missed last year’s event due to the birth of daughter #2, Lilly. I’m mostly looking forward to it, but it feels like I’ve got an exam half way through, so I may look much happier come 3pm on Day 1.