What I’ve Learned (or The Tao of Jen)

Trade Show Blog

What I’ve Learned (or The Tao of Jen)

Lessons Learn by Jen LaBruzza

Lesson #43:  Understand Your Customer’s World, then See How Your Product and Your Company Fits.

If Willie Nelson can have a Tao, well, then so can I.

I’ve been on the job as Classic’s Western Regional Manager for a few months. Let me just say — working four hours a day is exhausting. 😉 Over the past 60 plus days, I’ve learned a few things, made some mistakes, and grown not only as a professional, but also as a person. Here are a few personal “pearls of wisdom” I’d like to share about my experience as a newbie at Classic Exhibits.

1. “I know what I’m doing, I know what I’m doing, I know what I’m doing.”

I’ve had to come to terms with my own insecurities. This may sound a little odd, but to do a good job, I have to know I am doing a good job. While I don’t know everything – not by a long shot — I do know there is always someone on Classic’s team who will support me and who I can turn to if I need help. That alone lessens my anxiety.

Heading into my first trip to Seattle I was full of “What if’s”:  What if I don’t say the right thing? What if I don’t know the answer? We all have those insecurities and doubts on a new job, even when it’s an industry we think we know. I’ve learned that I work with brilliant people who care, who want me to succeed, and who will be there to back me up.

Repeat . . . “I am pretty good at my job, and I’m working on getting better.”

2. What I thought I’d be doing vs. What I do vs. What my friends/family think I do.

If you’re on Facebook or any of the other social media venues, you will probably smile or chuckle when you read the above statement. The “What I Think I Do” meme has become the latest fad with its interesting twist on self-reflection.

Having worked with distributors in the past, I felt I had a pretty good handle on what I’d be doing. But after my second trip, I realized that this is more than a job. Yes, I am a cheerleader, a problem solver, and a trainer, but I am also a friend.  Being a friend may be more important than the other three.

3. “Understand your customer’s world, then see how your product fits in. Get out of the office and visit them where they live and work.” – Rich Banfield

The whole reason for my job is this one premise. As distributors, you know your market and your customers. As manufacturers we strive to listen to you and apply your ideas and suggestions as often as we can. Where would Exhibit Design Search be without your willingness to share your ideas and insights? I have come to appreciate and believe in “Shared Knowledge, Shared Success.” It’s a breath of fresh air actually and goes hand in hand with Classic’s Can Do manufacturing attitude.

Classic talks about that “Shared” concept a lot. You may not hear it all the time, but trust me, I hear it ALL THE TIME. It’s important to the company. We see it as two-way communication where your contribution matters and is essential to how Classic functions. It’s not a top down approach. It’s not an “our way or the highway” attitude. If you’ve ever worked in those environments, you know exactly what I mean. We want to know what’s happening in your world and how we can better support and react to it.

These last few months have been fantastic, and I can’t wait to see what the future brings. Next time I see you, challenge me about what I’ve learned. As a former teacher, I’ll be ready for the pop quiz. Just remember to grade me on a very generous curve.

Jen LaBruzza, Western Regional Manager
jen@classicexhibits.com

Filter by Category

Filter by Year

Recent Posts

What You Should Know about Exhibit Marketing

Exhibit marketing is all about marketing your products or services to buyers at expositions, conferences, and trade shows. A successful exhibit marketing program will be rewarded with increased revenues, referrals, and industry networking. The goal is to understand how exhibit marketing differs from the other types of marketing.

Managing Your Trade Show Budget

Trade shows are expensive, and some costs are often puzzling to exhibition newbies, but there are multiple ways to manage those expenses with a little planning and some assistance from an experienced trade show professional. Don’t be afraid to tap into that expertise.

Why Are Trade Shows Important for Business Growth and Branding

With the rise of online meetings and ecommerce, business experts have predicted the death of trade shows and live events for 40 years. Yet, the benefits of trade shows and events have never been more important for businesses. There were over 13,000 separate events in North America in 2025 alone.

Best & Biggest Convention Centers in the US for Trade Shows

What are the biggest and best convention centers in the United States? And does overall size and location matter when it comes to a convention center? Unless you’re a trade show nerd (like me), you’ve probably never wondered if the Las Vegas Convention Center is bigger than McCormick Place in Chicago. Or if the Orange County Convention Center is in FL or CA?

Trade Show Exhibits — Outsource vs In-House Production

At Classic Exhibits, we’ve learned a few things over the past 30 years. For one, everyone wants to be in control. In our business that means the design, project management, construction, staging, and delivery of their client’s display.

People’s Almanac of Trade Show Knowledge

We all love working with an informed client about trade shows and trade show marketing. They ask our advice. We give it. Sometimes we state facts. Sometimes we offer opinions. And sometimes, we should send them to an expert.

10 Questions about Trade Show Labor

On May 21, 2024, Jim Wurm from the Exhibitor Appointed Contractor Association (EACA) presented a webinar on the State of the Labor Industry particularly as it relates to the production of trade shows and events. Jim was joined by Bill Muller from Nth Degree.

Share, Rent, or Buy — Your Next Trade Show Display

As a parent, you teach your children to share — share their toys, their candy, their whatever.

At Classic, we’ve seen this rental trend since 2008. At first, it was driven by necessity. Exhibitors were committed to a show and/or committed to trade show marketing and their budgets were slashed. Now, however, that trend has less to do with slashed budgets and more to do with personalization, capacity, ownership, storage, and design.

Life as a Traveling Sales Representative

Snake Oil Salesman or Snake Charmer. The traveling salesman has always had slightly negative, slightly shady reputation. If you’ve ever seen The Music Man, particularly the opening scene on train, you’ll know what I mean. I would like to think business has changed from the days of the “snake oil salesman” to what we now refer to as a “manufacturer’s rep.

29 Ways to Cut Your Trade Show Costs

Many exhibitors are guilty of two self-inflicted mistakes when it comes to trade shows. They don’t have a comprehensive sales and marketing strategy, and they don’t manage their trade show costs before, during, and after the event. Let’s change that.

10 Online Tools for Classic Exhibits Distributors

At a recent Shared Knowledge University, we reviewed ten online tools available to all Classic Exhibits Distributors. The attendees told us that these tools are invaluable to their sales, marketing, and customer service teams and are unique within the exhibit industry. 

Why Small Businesses Fail to Grow by Jay Goltz

Excerpt from the “Art of Running a Small Business.” Many, if not most, Classic Exhibits distributors fall into the small business classification as defined by the Small Business Administration. Small businesses have challenges that larger businesses do not.

Top 12 Trade Show Bad Habits

All animals, humans included, are creatures of habit. We learn how to survive, then follow those routines day after day. Trade shows are no different. Exhibitors and attendees find their safe space and get comfortable: same shows, same people, same message.