I have a lot of friends in the Albuquerque business scene because I’ve always been very active in community organizatioins after I founded EXHIB-IT!® in February of 2000. My trade show marketing company is well known because it continually earns national awards and remains on a steady growth plan despite ups and downs in the economy - when a marketing budget is usually the first to go. Most recently Enterprising Woman Magazine named me a 2008 Enterprising Woman of the Year, an award given the nation’s top 20 woman Entrepreneurs. The award is presented each year by Enterprising Women Magazine, a publication for women business owners. I will accept the award at an awards banquet held February 29th in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. Winning this most recent award has caused more of my friends and business associates to ask me how my business keeps growing, especially through all the fluctuations in the economy. This is practically all we talk about at networking organization meetings while we share lunch and presentation time.I try to explain to my business associates that we are in the business of making sure that our clients’ stay innovative, unique and creative in their tradeshow marketing presentation. These qualities are important for achieving long lasting success in the marketplace, even when marketing budgets are tight. I explain to everyone who doesn’t know that trade shows statistically bring a higher rate of return than any other marketing tools combined, which counts for a lot when people don’t have much to spend on marketing. Our services become more important if you’re trying to use trade shows as a way to get more bang for your buck because it’s crucial that you show up prepared to set yourself apart. When I can effectively communicate this to my clients, I have successfully turned a lemon (a small marketing budget) into lemonade (a sale that is lucrative on both ends). Here’s my theory on how the process works-I’ve always carried with me an entrepreneurial spirit. I’m not afraid to take calculated risks. When clients sit down with me or my staff, I believe they begin to feel this spirit and begin to tap into their own entrepreneurial mind. They go ahead and take a calculated risk and then we make sure they succeed. At EXHIB-IT!® we are always putting our entrepreneurial drive into looking for new ways to help our clients shine. Our company thrives on our ability to provide clients with new ways of presenting their message that sets their company apart and drives traffic to their booth when they exhibit at a show. We carry that drive with us on every project and we simply won’t let them fail. One way we make sure they don’t fail is we send our clients through our Education StationTM which is a division completely dedicated to teaching trade show goers and exhibitors how to get the highest return on their tradeshow investment and it has produced a number of trade show experts after our own heart. Winning the Enterprising Woman Award certainly put us in the national spotlight recognizing what we do best. I might have won the award based on the way I grew my business, but my business continues to be successful because other people’s businesses grew once they began a relationship with EXHIB-IT! That, to me, is the ultimate reward.