Display Firm Has One Banner Year After Another

Creative Display Solutions, Inc., has a lot to show for itself, and its owner has a lot of advice to give about how small businesses can boost their revenue.

The company produces island displays, banner stands and pop up displays -- all of the exhibiting materials that companies use in trade shows -- since 2001.

In 2006, Creative Display Solutions grossed $1.5 million in revenue, and this year owner Maureen Borzacchiello says it is showing "about a 27% increase, year to date."

Borzacchiello believes she is in the right business at the right time.

"When most [marketing] budgets are being cut, like TV and expensive print ads, the trade shows -- which offer the face-to-face experiential events -- are the last to go," she says.

Ramping up for the busy season, which starts in September, Borzacchiello took a recent 7 a.m. meeting to close a $100,000 deal with a client who participates in as many as 100 trade shows a year. And CDS recently launched an online product-management software program that allows its clients to view the progress of every show product that the company is building for them.

Best Price Solutions

The company keeps track of data to show the clients how their money is being spent, including what they're paying per lead coming in to their booth.

"These are tools that help companies go through lean times," says Borzacchiello.

Green -- and Lean -- Solutions

By utilizing the options to recycle and refurbish old exhibits, CDS can save the clients money, while also bringing them into the vanguard of sustainable solutions and reducing their carbon footprint.