By Nick Zynda
Eight years ago I left my 9-5 job to freelance design full-time. That first tax season was a rude awakening: I quickly learned that self-employment would require creative use of expenses to maximize deductions. After optimizing most of my day-to-day life to align with business expenditures, I was left with one big “sore thumb” of a non-deductible expense—vacationing.
Enter a city where days are blocked out in handshakes, paradigm shifts, and synergistic supply-chain enterprising…while the nights are a bacchanalian feast for the senses where the “resortist” is king. Welcome to fabulous Las Vegas Nevada: the home of trade show vacationing. Here are are tips on getting a bang for your buck while combining work with play in Vegas:
Where the trade shows at?
Practically any day of the week there is a trade show at one of Las Vegas’ numerous event halls. In addition to the large Las Vegas Convention Center and Cashman Center, almost all casinos and resorts have their own trade show venues. Check out the ongoing calendar of events around the city, or mark out the big shows you might want to attend.
You can also contact casinos and resorts directly to see which organizations will be congregating during a given window of time. Regardless of your line of business, these trade shows are often just a gathering of business owners, salespeople, and entrepreneurs. If there’s a service you can provide them to grow their business or product, they’re usually happy to give you a few minutes of time in an otherwise boring multi-day event. Grab a stack of business cards and hit the floor.
Plan ahead of time to get in.
Most trade shows have a website with a attendee registration form for “exhibits only” which means entrance to the floor where all the booths are set up. They’ll try to upsell you to panels, speakers or workshops, but most of those are specific to the industry and not worth wasting valuable Vegas time at.
Plan early: the “exhibits only” pass may include free registration if you sign up early enough in the year. The big shows (CES, ConExpo, NAB, Infocomm) may require a promo, discount or invite code to get in free. A basic Google search will usually bring up a handful of these codes. When registering, get creative with your job title—people will be more likely to talk to you if it seems like you’re a bigwig with your company, even if that company is just you.
Use a secondary email.
It’s wise to use a secondary email account since you’ll be spammed by the show as well as any number of vendors. You’ll be asked about your industry and areas of focus—think on your toes and make it seem like you’re the perfect candidate to forge business partnerships with the companies exhibiting. Once you’ve got the confirmation email they’ll either send you a badge in the mail, or you can pick it up in person. Remember to bring your ID on the day of, so don’t use a fake name. Once the trade show is locked down, the rest of the trip is in support of this business venture, you’ll have time for some tax deductible fun.
Nick Zynda is a freelance designer with an emphasis on product packaging. His clients have included Tapout, Costco, Tommy’s Chili, Artisan Brand Snacks, The Soy of Life and many small and growing businesses from around the world. He lives in San Diego with his wife, newborn baby, and rat terrier.
