Home shows are an excellent idea for vendors and attendees alike. People who are looking to buy or sell a home, begin a major or minor remodeling project, add landscaping, install or maintain a pool or spa or 
simply make a home a more comfortable, energy-efficient and elegant place to live can learn how by attending a quality home show such as the Carolina Living Show, launched in January 2011 by Carolina Homes & Interiors at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center.
For vendors, the advantages of participating in a home show are obvious. They have the opportunity to present their products and services to people who are already interested in their products and services.
In its first year, the Carolina Living Show has surpassed all expectations.
“I didn’t have high expectations because it was the first show, but I was pleasantly surprised,” said Janice ward, a 15-year home expo veteran and distributor for Phantom screens in Mebane, North Carolina. “The people who came through were interested in what was going on. we are definitely adding the Carolina Living Show to our show schedule. I like that it was at the early part of the season. The timing was good because people weren’t antsy to get outdoors. I’m sure the Carolina Living Show will grow every year.”
“It was held at an ideal time of the year,” explained show Director Bill Cool. “Home shows tend to work best in winter, when people are scheduling their ‘to-do’ lists. In the spring, individuals are already outside completing projects.”
“We had an enormous amount of attendees and around 90 exhibitors,” Cool added. “we even had experts giving seminars for home improvement projects and gardening, chiropractors, health care providers and real-estate professionals who gave tutorials on short sales and foreclosures. It’s a great venue for attendees to see all of these people under one roof in a day or maybe two days. You can talk to all sorts of people.”
Jim Arnesen, a veteran vendor of home shows with Carolina solar security in Myrtle Beach, agreed with the show’s director.
“We have participated in a variety of venues, but the Carolina Living Show was the best. The marketing was very impressive. Bill Cool was great and interfaced with us a great bit. I wouldn’t miss next year’s show.”
Marketing the show to the proper segment of society helped bring vendors a quality audience.
“Working the Carolina Living Show was a great experience. It will help build a business, not just selling the products but also making contacts. You don’t have to work too hard because the people are coming to you.”
Many vendors from this year’s show plan to return for the 2012 version, when Cool plans to repeat his winning combination of exceptional marketing, a prime location and convenient event dates.
“Next year, we will be bigger and better,” he said. “we are adding an evening show on Friday so the entire Carolina Living Show will run two-and-a-half days. It’ll be the first show of the year for the Myrtle Beach Grand Strand. We plan to improve on what we started this year.”
