These photos were taken at the Institute of Heating & Air Conditioning Industries’ (IHACI) 33rd Annual Trade Show which was held November 14, 2012 at the Pasadena Convention Center in Pasadena, CA. This event is recognized as the largest HVAC/R/SM show in the west by the HVAC industry. I was there as the guest of my good friend Phil Walls, owner and inventor of the EZ Recovery Coil refrigerant recovery system. Although heating and air conditioning is far from being my forte, I am glad I attended as I found it pretty informative. As many of you know I am one of the co-founders of Business & Beer; and as a result I have met a few people through our group that are in-between jobs and joined Business & Beer in the hopes of finding new employment. When I talk to these people I always suggest determining what their skill-set is, then determining what void in that field needs to be filled and begin by starting a company that will fill that void. After walking around for an hour or two, looking at what was being displayed and listening to the representatives, whether they were talking with me or someone else, it was pretty easy to come up with some ideas for new business models.
This particular event was free of charge and I am sure there are other trade shows like this that are also free or a very low admission fee; so if you are looking for work but do not really know where to begin, attending various trade shows might be a good place to start. Even if the trade is not something that is really up your alley you might discover that there is a sub-niche in it that you never thought of that is something you are comfortable with. Heck, I ran into one company that was giving away free training and certifications because there is a lack of trained individuals in their field. I guess the point is that you never know where opportunity may pop up, so give it a helping hand and do not limit your scope. It is all about the networking.
