Natural Entrepreneur: The Made in NH Expo

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The Made in NH Expo

A behind the scenes look

-- by Patti Caldwell

The curious, the brave, the visionaries and the veterans. These are all words that can be used to describe New Hampshire’s entrepreneurs, those individuals who have assumed the risk of running their own business and are now responsible for achieving their own success by bringing their products and services to market. And for a full weekend each spring, the Made in NH Expo offers a great opportunity for each entrepreneur to promote their products and build new retail and wholesale accounts.

When asked if they would like to exhibit in the Made in NH Expo, the curious remain in the game and push for more information— when and where? The brave drive further— how much does it cost and what is the turnout? The sheer magnitude of the attendance numbers can overwhelm and disqualify some. The visionaries see business development opportunity and get on board quickly. And the veterans return year over year.

The annual Made in NH Expo was held in April this year in Manchester and was an overwhelming success to the delight of past participants as well as many first timers. The show attracted better than 20,000 attendees and over 150 exhibitors representing countless made in NH products and services, fine and performing artists, resorts and statewide attractions. Vendors ranged from made-by-hand artisans to innovative manufacturers of unique parts and components. The Expo is truly a NH community event.

And behind the scenes, each of the exhibitors had a unique roadmap of how they came to start a business. Most of these paths were not linear and many were courageous.

Lynn is a young woman who drives a Coca Cola delivery truck by day, and is launching her own product during evening and weekend hours. Lynn's company, LB Comfort of Goffstown,. manufactures and markets comfort collars— soft flannel and herb-scented collars that can be warmed to soothe tired and sore muscles and ease stress. In her truck by day, she imagines and develops ideas for product labeling, packaging, manufacturing and distribution. How many of us have sat in commuter traffic, office cubicles, or in front of computer screens with similar breakaway and ‘start my own business’ visions?

Another woman, Nancy Brown of Nancy’s Specialty Foods of Hopkinton, launched her own balsamic vinaigrette product literally days before the Expo. Her product is now carried in over twenty shops throughout the state.

These entrepreneurs, like many others, crossed the difficult hurdle of packaging and labeling a new product only to be faced with the challenges of creative merchandising their new products at the Expo. But their can-do attitude led them through the process and has since opened the door to many successes.

Consider Dave Hickman, K.D. Crumble of Milford, a baker who had launched his fine dessert and cookie bakery business at the Expo. I recall our initial conversations before the Expo where he laid out his vision and hopes for the new business venture. At that time he had identified the retail store location for his bakery, but the store design, product development, testing and quality control definitions were very much works in progress. Today, only a few months after the Made in NH Expo, his business is fully operational and the storefront is extremely well done. I am pleased to see him promoting products at his store that were on display by other Expo vendors. The Expo is an opportunity for exhibitors to create and develop synergies with each other to promote made in NH products and services.

The camaraderie that exists between New Hampshire entrepreneurs and the sense of contributing to NH community is also an important part of the behind the scenes. There is a sense that everyone is in the “same boat” in his or her efforts to build a business. And that sense of community does not get lost as companies grow. The Made in NH Expo attracts established New Hampshire businesses that were start-ups themselves just a few years ago. Many of these successful businesses, including Stonyfield Farm, advocate strong community ties and responsibility. The Common Man Family of Restaurants donates Expo profits to a benefit each year (such as the Court Appointed Special Advocates of Children, CASA), and Chuck Roast, a manufacturer of fleece outerwear, has been generous in making community donations. Bank of New Hampshire has a long track record of supporting small businesses and community events.

Of course, the logistics and coordination in putting on the Expo has its own set of behind the scenes occurrences. And almost anything can, and probably will happen after the event is planned and a launch date set. Weather in NH is always a factor. In 2003 there was a major early spring snowstorm, and in 2004 exhibitors arrived during a torrential rainstorm. There was a leak in the roof of the Exhibit Hall – directly above a lotion and soap business (bubbly humorous, perhaps, to all but the exhibitor who needed to be relocated!) Contractors arrived late. A 20-foot tall climbing wall needed to be moved to allow more clearance than expected, requiring five other exhibitors to be relocated. There can be medical emergencies, “no shows”, and people who show up late because of daylight savings time changes. The “family” of Expo vendors also share their laughter and tears. During the Expo one vendor revealed they were recently diagnosed with a serious illness and another learned that a family member had received a Fulbright scholarship.

By the grand opening, attendees were wrapped around the building, folks were in place and the show began. It ran like clockwork through to the end when exhibitors packed up in the parking lot and left, patting backs and greeting “see ya next time”.

The curious, the brave, the visionaries, and the veterans long gone – the lights of the exhibition hall are turned off and the entrepreneurs return home to further develop their NH-based businesses.

The Made in NH Expo is produced by EventsNH, a division of Business NH Magazine.

Patti Caldwell is a marketing and event consultant, and was Director of the 2004 Made in NH Expo. She can be reached at patti_caldwell@yahoo.com.

Upcoming Events

Feb 21 (8-9:30a): NH Forum on the Future, NHHTC, CR Sparks, Bedford, NH

March 1 (6:30-8:30p): Women's Business Center and MicroCredit-NH Networking Event, Bank of America, Portsmouth, NH

March 6 (10a-noon): Growth Capital Resources in New Hampshire, City of Nashua, Office of Economic Development, Daniel Webster College, Nashua, NH

March 8: (12pm -1pm) Break the Rules and Close More Sales, Amoskeag Business Incubator, Manchester, NH

March 16: Peak Pitch (pitch your plan to invstors on the chairlift), Mt. Sunapee, NH ($)

March 22: Breaking Trends in Web Develoment, UVCIA, Hanover, NH ($)

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