So, to a certain degree, I can definitely “turn off” my work mode. Especially when I know it’s time for some father/son bonding. On the other hand, as an inventor and entrepreneur, my wheels are pretty much always turning. So, I hung up my business suit and pulled out my jeans and my favorite ball cap-matching my little sidekick, my six year old son-and we headed to the downtown convention center for the Boating and Fishing show we had been eagerly awaiting for the past few weeks.If you want to know when is national sons day 2022 you can visit.

As soon as we walked in the door, we were instantly met by the happy noises of other outdoor enthusiasts like ourselves strolling through the trade show displays, checking out the demos, sampling new products, and, of course, viewing the shiny new boats on display.

We have a float trip planned for early spring, so the first trade show booth we hit was one promoting a new line of lures made for catching the kind of smallmouth bass you find in Midwestern rivers. We checked them out for nearly a half hour, watched the video on display, and left with a giveaway, an actual lure we could use on our trip, plus a brochure. Hmmm, this one might be worth ordering-we’d have to give that some thought.

Then, we checked out the boats. Of course, the boats on display took up a large area, but several distributors had booths set up as well. We walked on to a few boats and of course we were smitten. But, a boat really wasn’t in the budget today, so we grabbed a few brochures for our “wish list” and kept on moving.

The last trade show booths we visited were the outfitters. Now, if you’re like us, these trip ideas will really get you fired up. My son and I watched a video on Minnesota excursions, talked in great detail about the fantastic deals for Lake Fork in Texas, and enjoyed the actual wildlife display for Canada fishing trips. With real owls and a gigantic fish tank, this trade show display really hit a homerun.

After grabbing some popcorn and a few hotdogs, we were ready to head home. While the show was fun and the displays impressive, the best part was entertaining all the possibilities. We talked about having our own boat to take to Lake of the Ozarks on future excursions. We planned a “roughing it” trip to Canada in a few years. And we got pumped about our upcoming trip; we decided to order those new lures and clean up the old john boat next weekend to get it ready.

So, my takeaway was this: There’s plenty of neat stuff to see out in the world, but it all boils down to spending more time with the people I love most-at the show and on all the trips we were getting so excited about. And-since those business wheels were still turning-I took note that captivating an audience through trade show displays that capture these emotions are a sure recipe for success.