Most
kids are intrigued by fire. Admonitions from my mom like, “Don’t get too close!” only made me want
to get closer.
As a kid, I’d be enthralled watching dad masterfully stack logs into the fireplace. “Always make sure the flue is open,” he’d say. I had absolutely no idea what a flue was, but I assumed it had something to do with birds flying down our chimney.
He’d take a long matchstick and light the 3 or 4 crinkled up newspaper balls spread underneath the logs, and we’d watch as the fireplace would become aglow with flames.
Those pretty, bright orange flames. The warmth that emanated from the hearth. Stunningly beautiful. And if we were good boys that day Mom would take out a bag of marshmallows so we could each make our own burnt sugar noogies. Mmmmm… Can I please be 7 years old again?
Today,
the word fire
does not give me that same warm and fuzzy feeling. When I hear someone say fire
in Southern California my heart skips a beat. Where is it? How close? Do we still have electricity? Where’s our go
bag?
The windswept fires that have consumed Los Angeles over the course of the past 10 days have been devastating. The images you see on TV look like Hollywood special effects. But they’re not. The flames have destroyed some of my favorite restaurants sitting right on the PCH. Homes and businesses of friends and neighbors. Gone. Schools, churches, coffee shops, grocery stores… gone. They are ashes and rubble. All that remains are chimney stacks.
But enough of that. Let’s try to flip this around and find the positives…
Worldwide Effort
Since power, gas, water, and internet were all shut off over a week ago, the only way to access critical fire and evacuation information via the internet was by driving over the Santa Monica Mountains into the San Fernando Valley. As Susan and I evacuated Malibu last week, we watched a miles-long caravan of firetrucks, fire engines, ambulances and other First Responders heading into the town that we were fleeing. And it wasn’t just local fire stations. Susan said she saw fire companies from San Francisco and other NorCal cities.
Over the past few days, we’ve even seen trucks from Oregon, Texas, Colorado, Washington, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada and Utah. We learned that Canada, Mexico, South Africa and even UKRAINE have all sent fire fighters to Los Angeles to help battle the flames spreading across the city. It might be a California fire, but it is being fought by the entire world. THANK YOU for allowing your state’s first responders to travel west to assist in our fight.
The Stud Next Door
We
live in a cul-de-sac. The ridiculously heavy winds (up to 100 mph gusts) that created this fire storm blew away both
of my next-door neighbors’ carports. Why ours is still standing is beyond me. These
gusts of wind are the reason they cut our utilities last week. It is virtually
impossible to get evacuation and fire updates if you don’t have any “ears.”
Sitting at one of my favorite coffee shops in the Valley, I was reading my neighborhood news updates when I noticed a post from Chris, my next-door neighbor. Chris is an IT techie. He posted a note to the entire community stating that anyone could drive up and log on to his temporary Wi-Fi oasis in our cul-de-sac. He gave the network name and the password to use. The next day when Sue and I drove back into Malibu to ensure our home was still standing, we saw our cul-de-sac stuffed with cars, golf carts and dog walkers all getting/sending messages and emails to loved ones across the country. Chris is a stud.
Neighbors… Assemble!
Local news stations have captured plenty of stories about neighbors banding together to try and hold back the hungry flames. “My home was already gone, but my neighbor’s home was still in danger. I had to help.” Armed with garden hoses and buckets to scoop pool water some of these mini fire brigades managed to stave off disaster. Uplifting moments in a sea of devastation.
Hello Helle Snelligan!
Holy crap! THANK YOU to everyone who has reached out (and continues to reach out) to make sure that Susan and I are okay. You’ve offered homes, clothes, food, generators… and I even heard from Helle Snelligan, my elementary school friend who lives in France. I hadn’t seen or spoken with Helle in 50 years! I’ve heard from so many people that I’ve met over the years, both personal and business. And I’ve heard from many of YOU. Your heartfelt offers of assistance and love continue to pour in from just about everyone I’ve ever met.
It’s Good to Be Harold
To
my friends at Classic… You’ve stood by me over the past five years as my life
was in chaos with serious health issues, loss of family, COVID and now the LA
fires. Your support is a reminder of something that every Classic employee
knows and feels daily… Classic is not a business. It is a family.
Back
to where we started… Once the marshmallows were eaten and the flames from our
family’s indoor campfire had died out it was my responsibility to clean out the
ashes in the fireplace. I’d sweep them into a paper bag and toss them in the
trash can. Easy Peasy. The clean-up after this fire won’t be as simple. But we
will clean up.
Thanx for all your support. All of you. It’s good to be Harold.
Please help people affected by the 2025 California Wildfires by visiting redcross.org, calling 1-800-RED CROSS (800-733-2767) or texting the word CAWILDFIRES to 90999 to make a donation.
Whether it’s football, checkers, business, or anything that involves a winner and a loser, competitors are always looking for an “edge” that puts them over the top. While I am certainly not suggesting cheating. I am suggesting we follow Jack Nicklaus’ advice, “The harder I work, the luckier I get.”
Whether you’re an introvert, an extrovert, or somewhere in the middle-vert, most people enjoy spending time with colleagues and meeting new people under the right circumstances. For example, hosting an open house for your customers and/or prospects is a great way to entertain and educate – the perfect one-two punch. While holding an open house is not a new marketing concept, if done well, it can attract new clients and reward existing ones.
Having worked as a manufacturer’s rep in our industry for a hundred years, I’ve participated in plenty of business open houses and am delighted to share some of those greatest hits with you.
Do open houses work? Absolutely, if done right. But, you can’t whip them together in a day. Successful open houses succeed because of proper planning and exemplary execution. In other words, “If you fail to plan, then plan to fail.” You don’t need all the tactics I am suggesting below, but let’s explore some business open house ideas together and the risk/reward.
Business Open House Ideas and Important Tips
Choose Your Date Carefully.
I was recently chatting with an east coast customer about their upcoming event. They promoted their open house to customers and prospects via emailand direct mail. They followed up with phone calls. They did everything right. And judging by the early RSVPs they had received they were on track to exceed their lofty expectations with almost 20 new prospects likely to attend. Everything was set… and then came the big swing and whiff.
The open house was scheduled just days before the July 4th holiday and attendance took a last-minute hit and fell off considerably.
Fortunately, they had one lead that came in needing 25 banner stands while another needed a new 10×20. Best of all, one lead came in with a need for a new booth with a six-figure budget.
All in all, it was a successful event, but it could have been much more successful had a different date been chosen.
Have a Gimmick or a Schtick.
I was at a recent Open House where they hired the local baseball team mascot to appear and entertain the attendees. It was a nice twist that brought a few extra bodies in. Nothing life-changing, but very memorable. I’ve seen Elvis impersonators, magicians, henna tattoo artists, local celebrity chefs, you name it! One of the more successful events was held in mid-winter “up north” with a “Let’s Go to the Islands” theme. They had speakers every hour talking about the pluses and minuses of island over inline displays… They even had a musician playing Jimmy Buffett songs on an acoustic guitar in between sessions. Everyone was engaged, entertained, and informed.
At another Open House, the timing was right for an Oscar theme. So we rolled out the red carpet (literally) and had show tunes playing throughout. They had “paparazzi” taking pictures and team members asking Attendees for their autographs. Everyone was encouraged to dress to the nines. While there were no speakers there was enough going on to keep people focused, entertained, and engaged.
If You Feed Them, They Will Come.
It’s that simple. If you’re holding an all-day Open House, you might want to consider offering pastries and mimosas in the morning and hors d’oeuvres with beer and wine in the afternoon. You don’t need a sit-down meal, but people love leaving their office for a few hours to enjoy a day of education and nosh. Peanuts and chips may be OK for your football buddies, but not for your customers.
Have a Speaker with a Compelling Topic.
Whether it’s the owner, the creative director, a manufacturer’s rep, or a social media expert, choose somebody with a story. Content is key. The attendees are looking for solutions that will make their business or trade shows better. You might even consider featuring several top customers who talk about their experiences with trade show marketing. Nothing speaks louder than customers sharing positive experiences.
Be Consistent.
Hold your Open House at the same time(s) each year. For example, November/December as a holiday-themed appreciation gathering and ask your Creative Director to review the year’s design trends or an industry association speaker to come in to share the past year’s headlines.
Or maybe you offer quarterly lunch n’ learns. Pick a direction and run with it. If done right Customers will look forward to attending your events to learn a few new marketing tips, get out of the office for a few hours and enjoy a tasty little nosh-a-thon.
By providing these appreciation/education sessions your Team will be seen less as a sales organization and more as marketing experts. You’re not hard selling your clients and prospects during these Open Houses. No need. You are educating them.
With all the changes because of COVID, it’s quite likely that the person who handled the company’s trade show marketing is no longer there. That responsibility has now fallen to either the top of the company’s food chain (who doesn’t have the time or experience to do it properly) or to the new marketing intern (who doesn’t have a clue about… anything). By default,YOU become their in-house trade show expert.
Ask Your Vendors to Participate.
As suppliers, we look at Open Houses as opportunities to spend time with you and a chance to learn more about your market and Customer needs. We also get to see other vendors and share experiences and insights. At the Open Houses I’ve participated in, I typically see Taylor, Brumark, DS&L, and various freight/labor companies participating. We can bring in new products and review services, which always makes for an educational and entertaining event.
Partner Vendors should be more than happy to serve as guest speakers sharing industry trends and new products/services being offered.
You might want to ask your Partner Vendors to consider sponsoring the Blood Mary Bar or a Coffee Barista. Never hurts to ask.
Provide Swag Bags.
As customers or prospects leave your Open House you might present them with a goodie bag. While we’re not endorsing fancy-schmancy swag bags like they provide to the stars on Oscar Night (this year’s Oscars goodie bag was an extravaganza worth a whopping US $140,000, containing 52 items, experiences, and treatments),a little thank you bag can go a long way.
Invite the Local Press and Government Officials.
If you invite your local newspaper or tv station, it shouldn’t be hard to get your mayor or other local politicians to attend as well and ask them to consider making a short welcoming speech.
The Final Two Tips.
First, if your team is wearing matching corporate apparel and name badges, it will be much easier for your guests to identify their hosts. Second, consider hourly raffles to keep everyone engaged. It doesn’t have to be extravagant. A gift certificate to a local restaurant. A free car wash. Free shipping on a banner stand. Or complimentary design time with your graphic designer.
Business Open House Gift Ideas
Branded Thermal Cup or Water Bottle
Trade Show Emergency Bag (Sharpies, Velcro, X-acto knife, Tylenol, Starbucks gift card, etc.)
Top 10 Trade Show Tips (wallet-sized laminated card)
Branded Power Bank (for charging phones, etc…)
Branded Tape Measure
Upscale Badge Lanyard
Key Tag with “ReturnMe” Lost & Found Service
One-Size Fits All Comfort Shoe Insoles
Business Open House Event Ideas to Avoid
Avoid Slow/Tedious Event Check-In. Have a dedicated team on hand to quickly get attendees badged and into the event.
Skipping the Post-Event Follow-Up. The event isn’t over just because everyone’s gone home. Solicit feedback and post photos on social media.
Not Offering Food and Drinks. They’re guests in your business home. Nothing turns attendees off more than an event without refreshments.
Not Having Enough Staff on Hand. The last thing you want to have is an attendee looking for someone to answer questions and finding nobody is available.
Forgetting to Check Competing Events. Always, always, always check your calendar for conflicting events and holidays.
Low Cost or Small Business Open House Checklist
Assign a Team member to continually clean during the open house.
Have a host at the front door to greet attendees as they come in.
Make sure there is enough parking.
Provide accurate directions.
Consider music or live entertainment.
Provide name badges for all staff and attendees.
Have plenty of garbage cans available in food areas.
Set aside space for people to eat and chat.
Notify (and even invite) local business neighbors of your event.
Create a theme for the event and encourage participation.
Business Open House Marketing Ideas
Since the business disaster of COVID, the live events industry is back with a vengeance. However, some things have changed at many of the open houses I have planned or attended.
In general, everyone seems to be either understaffed or seriously understaffed. As a result, motivational speakers have been more in demand than in the past. Whether it be business or personal motivation, businesses are eager for inspirational messages to jumpstart their sales (and their employees).
When it comes to work-life balance, a talented speaker can remind everyone that working together lessens the overall stress in an organization. These speakers could be a local coach, someone who has achieved big things despite physical difficulties, or a local dignitary with a great story.
There will be plenty of time before and after to talk about products and services, but the takeaway should be, “I am stressed beyond belief, but I can still get things accomplished.” And they will be gathered with other people in the same circumstances.
One huge topic currently is AI and how it can be impactful (or detrimental) depending on how it is used. Most people in the 40+ age group may not be in-tune with the new technology. Consider inviting knowledgeable speakers on this subject.
Always remember this about open houses, the success cannot be totally measured for 12-18 months after the event. You want your contacts and customers to remember that you gave them a break from their office and left them with something they can use. It will serve the company well leaving them with that pleasant taste in their mouth.
Open House for Business FAQs
As you plan your Open House, consider the following Frequently Asked Questions for both your team and for your attendees. You may want to include some of these on your invitation or on the webpage(s) dedicated to the Open House.
General Information:
What is the purpose of this open house?
To introduce the business to the community
To showcase products or services
To generate leads and build relationships
To celebrate a grand opening, anniversary, or special occasion
When and where is the open house?
Date, Time, and Duration
Business Address
What can attendees expect at the open house?
Speaker
Product demonstrations
Refreshments
Giveaways
Special offers
Meet-and-greets with staff
Do the attendees need to RSVP?
[Yes/No] If yes, provide RSVP information (e.g., phone number, email address, online form).
Is there a cost to attend?
[Yes/No] If yes, specify the cost and any ticket information.
Is parking available?
[Yes/No] If yes, provide parking instructions or directions.
What’s the dress code”
Casual/Business or casual
Can the attendee bring guests?
[Yes/No] If yes, are there any restrictions or special accommodations?
Business Planning Questions:
How can I promote the open house?
What refreshments will be served?
Who will be staffing the open house?
What safety and security measures will be in place?
How will I collect customer information (if applicable)?
How will I follow up with attendees after the event?
On your FAQs for your guests, keep them concise and easy to understand, use professional language, and, finally, be prepared to answer any additional questions (and update your FAQs).
Partnering with Classic Exhibits for Business Open House Ideas
If you need help with Open House ideas, contact us or your local event agency. A good partner will transform your good idea into a magical event that will be remembered by your guests (and employees) for years.
If I, Harold Mintz, was your tutu wearing Fairy Godfather and handed you $1 million dollars, what would you do with it? This generous gift would come with one condition. You must spend 100% of it on your business. What would you splurge on?
Many of you have already gotten this question from me because I often ask it during my Distributor visits.
Below are your Top 10 answers (in reverse order). Do you recognize your response?
10. It’s a Schvitz-a-thon out there! Our shop is an oven for at least 4 months of the year. With the bay doors open and fans swirling you could still roast a chicken in the shop. We’d bring in some sort of air conditioning to make life more tolerable for our employees.
9. I’d bring back our showroom. We eliminated our showroom years ago so we could create additional set-up/staging areas. While necessary, we still miss the impact that our showroom had on everyone who saw/experienced it. It was our silent salesperson.
8. Our website is ancient. We’d upgrade it immediately. The first thing we’d do is engage with a professional developer to assist with revamping it. We know Prospects and Customers often go to our website, but we are underutilizing this blockbuster sales tool.
7. Add to our rental inventory. Our current rental inventory is ancient and sparse so we don’t offer rentals as much as we would like. We can’t do everything, but it would be nice to handle basic inlines and islands.
6. We’d boost our social media presence. We don’t post on social media as much as we should. We post large, cool jobs but forget about all the other tidbits that Clients and Prospects might appreciate. I’d hire a dedicated social media expert.
5. I’d invest in an LED tile inventory. Backlighting was/is hot. Just about everything going out the door these days has backlit graphics. LED is coming on strong. I’d acquire the tiles and the A/V experts necessary to travel with them.
4. Graphics. We’ve flirted with the idea of bringing in our own graphic production for years but never pulled the trigger. It requires a level of expertise and volume outside our current scope. That said… the influx of cash would allow us to dip our toes in the water or in-house graphic production.
3. I’d boost employees’ salaries across the board. Everyone took a hit during the COVID Pause. When their salaries were cut, their work ethic increased. They treated this company as if it were their own. We owe them.
2. More storage space. Our current storage space is full. We make good money on our active clients, and if we had more space, I could fill it with those types of clients. Cha-Ching!
And the #1 comment I hear when “giving away” $1 million…
1. We’d add more employees. I’d use a chunk of the money to find and hire a new batch of employees in all areas – PMs, Sales, Design and Production. Especially PMs.
What would you do with a $1,000,000 gift from me? Share in the comments.
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For 30 years, Classic Exhibits has been designing and building creative custom solutions for our Distributor Partners and their clients. As the largest private-label exhibit manufacturer in North America, we have the unmatched capability, capacity, and creativity to create 3D projects ranging from 10 x 10 inline displays to 60 x 80 double-deck islands.
Baseball season is upon us once again. That means it’s time to refresh yourself with our BASEBALL TERMS – CLASSIC STYLE! Whichever team you root for please keep in mind these three non-bendable rules:
(1) When a foul ball comes your way in the stands, catch it without dropping your beer or popcorn.
(2) When asking for an autograph, tell them your son’s name is spelled H-A-R-O-L-D. and
(3) The only acceptable condiments for a ballpark hot dog are mustard and sauerkraut. Period. PLAY BALL!!!
I was recently
asked to share memories of my very first sales call. I had to blow the dust off
many layers of memories to find my way back to the early 80’s.
People usually find their way into our industry via two different paths: your family member owns an exhibit house in which you spend your youthful summers schvitzing away in a sweltering shop (I’m looking at you, Nick Carty!) or like most of us… you trip into it by accident.
For me, it was accidental. Please allow me to share some snippets from
the early chapters in the Book of Harold.
First Job. First Big Mistake.
Fresh out of college, I somehow managed to get a gig as a copywriter at a
local ad agency. I was writing 5 ads a day/5 days a week — TV, radio,
newspaper. I wrote all the ads. Whatever the client or my boss asked for, I
wrote it.
One day my boss says, “We have a new client (The Washington
Times newspaper). They need to see some radio copy. Go write me five
spots by the end of day.” As he was leaving my office, he tossed out one
more instruction… “Don’t be funny. This is a serious client who is
attempting to plant a serious flag. Don’t be funny.”
Sounds simple enough, right? Five ads before the end of the day. No funny. Gotcha. But here’s the problem. After doing my research on this new daily paper, I honestly felt they could use some humor to get people’s attention.
So after penning five straight (rather boring) radio spots, I decided to do one more… for extra credit. And it was funny. Reallyfunny. Might have been one of the best ads I’d ever written. I was quite proud of it actually. So, when I went into my boss’s office that afternoon, I presented the five assigned “not funny” ads and proudly placed my extra credit copy right on top of the stack. MISTAKE!
This is the boss who showed me the door. Notice the hat? The Washington Times
He began to read. After a few seconds, he balled up the copy and tossed it into the trash can. There was no way he’d read the entire ad! My young and inexperienced emotions bubbled to the surface and before I could zip my lip, out it came… “FXQZ You!”
After he stopped laughing, he said, “Okay. You know you’re fired,
right?” He continued, “And just a suggestion, it’s probably not a good
idea to say ‘F You’ to your next boss.”
My Next Job.
Who the heck would buy anything from this head of hair?
I was once again on the streets looking for a job. I sent out resume after resume. Bupkus. I even got my hair cut (at my father’s strong suggestion).
After a month of scouring the want ads, one of my buddies said, “Why don’t you go see my brother? He owns an exhibit house, and he’s looking for someone to write a client’s annual report.”
An exhibit what??!! Didn’t know. Didn’t care. I was out of work and
needed money. I booked the appointment.
I was hired and after six weeks, I completed what I’m sure remains one of the world’s most boring annual reports ever written.
But during those 6 weeks, I noticed odd things around the shop and I had questions. Lots of questions.
“What’s that?”
“That’s a piece of moon rock. We’re making a display for the
Smithsonian.”
“What’s he doing?”
“He’s a calligrapher. He’s illuminating (hand penning) diplomas for Mt Vernon College.”
“What’s he doing?”
“He’s a sign painter. He’s painting posters for the local department store.” (Listen youngsters — Vinyl machines didn’t always exist. Before Gerber made the first vinyl plotter/cutter, all signs were either hand painted or silk-screened.)
This all looked like great fun! So I asked if there was a permanent spot
for me on the Blair, Inc Team. There was. In sales.
Sales? No kid that I know says, “When I grow up I wanna be a salesperson. Ewww!” But I needed the job. I didn’t know it at the time, but Scott Jackson, owner of Blair, Inc had just given me my first sales gig in the trade show industry. (By the way, Blair, Inc is still kicking butt in Northern Virginia, currently enjoying 72 years in business.)
So there I was — young, inexperienced, and probably not much more
knowledgeable about trade show exhibits than my future prospects. Although I
had tagged along on a few sales calls with my boss, I didn’t feel like I was
prepared to go solo yet. Doesn’t matter. The call came in, and I went out.
My First Prospect
All I knew about the prospect was that they were an engineering firm and that they were a two-hour drive from our shop. I arrived about half an hour early. Always good to be early. But I screwed up the time. The appointment was set for 2:00 pm – NOT3:00 pm.
I walked in thinking I was 30 minutes early, but in reality, I was 30 minutes late. No time to visit the restroom to unload the 20 ounces of coffee I had been slogging down.
I was ushered into the conference room where there were seven men staring
at me. Remember… I’m a rookie. Instead of starting by asking the questions I
now know are critical to capturing a prospect’s needs, I proceeded to make my
presentation all about my company, my team, and ME. After about 10 minutes of non-stop blabbing, I finally pulled
out my newfangled “pop-up exhibit.”
Nomadic Display’s corporate headquarters was just down the road from Blair, Inc and they had recently given us some demo Instand frames to show clients. I popped open the frame and the room full of engineers went nuts. They immediately jumped up and said, “Do that again!” At the time, nobody had seen Ted Ziegler’s pop-up technology before. They were astounded and wanted to know everything about it.
There was time when pop-up technology was astounding to everyone who saw it. Revolutionary!
No longer nervous, I taught them how to open it. They were sooooo into
it!
I told them everything I knew about “Instand pop-ups,” which took all of
two minutes. But they were engineers and started asking me questions. Lots of questions…
“Can the shelves hold 30 pounds?” “Sure.” No they can’t. They don’t even HAVE shelves.
“Is it reconfigurable?” “Of course… Don’t be silly.” Liar!!!
“Can we get it by Friday?” “Absolutely.” Nope.
They couldn’t have been more excited, and I couldn’t have been more worried. I spent the return two-hour drive freaking out. Oh my gosh! What if they actually BUY this display and find out it that it can’t do ANY of the things I’d promised?!
I needn’t have worried. Never heard from them again. As impressed as they
were with the technology, they had also detected my rookie-ness on display and
had decided to go with a more seasoned (smarter,
more knowledgeable) salesperson.
I wasted their time and mine. I crashed and burned on my very first sales
call — badly. But I did learn some big lessons.
Lessons Learned
1. Get There Early – Never, ever, ever be late for a
meeting. Get thereearly. Get their WAY early. But never
be late. In Hollywood I learned this ditty… “If you’re early, you’re on
time. If you’re on time, you’re late. If you’re late, you’re fired.”
2. Engineers – I know it’s stereotyping, but in my
experience, engineers tend to like details. All the details. They also
tend to want to put WAY too much copy on exhibit walls that nobody will ever
read except maybe other engineers.
3. IDK — If a prospect asks you something that you don’t
know the answer to, say “I don’t know!”Tell them you’ll find out
and get back to them ASAP. And then find out and get back to them ASAP.
The Family Business
I mentioned up top about the two ways that people find their way into our industry: by family or by accident. While reminiscing about my early career, I realized that most of the companies that I’d worked for were all family houses:
Blair, Inc – son-in-law took over from father-in-law
Shy Greenspan, Founder of Blair, Inc and Scott Jackson, my boss and still the Owner of Blair, Inc.
Nomadic – daughter took over from father
Susan Mintz, Judy Watson (daughter) and Ted Zeigler (father and inventor of the Instand and the self-locking pop-up technology) and me.
HW Exhibits – son took over from father
Howard and Scott Walode
Last week, I was in Texas and had the pleasure of sitting down for a cup
of coffee with Danny Kent/5D Show Services
(https://5dshowservices.com/). Danny’s dad, Rick Kent and industry icon Larry
Crumlish started The Exhibit Store in Dallas many, many years
ago. Danny shared with me how he spent his youth at The Exhibit Store learning from the ground up. It was emotional for
both of us listening to him wax poetically as he reminisced about the early
days and people no longer with us.
For all those who swam into our industry via their family’s gene pool,
good for you.
And for all the rest of us who found it by accident… how lucky are we?
