This means you have to do everything you can to be sure that you've planned for a variety of different issues. Of course, you can never plan for all of them, because until you know what's going to happen next that just isn't possible.

Instead you set up a system that allows you to handle a number of different problems just in case they happen, and that gives you the ability to take on the surprises without missing a beat.

Take for instance any marketing material that you might accidentally leave behind. A trade show without marketing material is a trade show with a lot of missed opportunities. However, if you want to be sure this never happens to you there are two easy steps to take.

The first is by having all of your marketing material on a disc so you'll have back ups of the designs. The second is by being aware of any kind of printing company you can make use of in the city your trade show is at. I'd call ahead too to make sure you can get your orders done quickly. Now you've set up a safety net for when those various copies potentially get left behind.

Something else to consider is getting some label printing done ahead of time. What this does is gives you a nice way of making sure your brand name and logo is on anything you want.

Consider if you were intending to hand out some free staplers and accidentally leave them behind. Getting a number of replacements staplers might be a little pricey, but you should be able to do it with relative ease even on short notice. But getting those same staplers with your logo on them as well? That might take a lot longer.

Well, with label printing you can just get the staplers and then use the labels to ensure your company name is still on them. This might not be the most technologically advanced way of going about it, but you'll still be able to hand people something for free that has your company name on it, so you don't have a complete loss.

You need to be sure that you're ready for anything that might come up. I gave one example where label printing can be put to good use, and there are a variety of different ways you can make use of them.

The point isn't really to plan for each thing that might happen, but have an overall back up plan that can cover as many issues as possible. Last of all, when those problems do come along, if you stay calm and keep your cool, you'll be much better prepared for handling them.