When it comes to investing, everybody wants a sure thing. What business owners often forget is that the best place to invest is not in some hot new stock or mutual fund but in their own enterprise.

After all, a great feature of any investment is being able to control the outcome. There’s a helpless feeling to watching the price of a supposedly sure-fire stock drop through the floor. There is nothing you can do except decide when and whether to sell — strangers are in charge of your destiny.

But when you invest in your business, you are in charge. Your own energy, effort and intelligence decide how soon and how well an investment in a new line of business, a new employee, or a new machine will pay off.

Going to the show

For investing in your company, there is no safer bet than attending a major industry trade show. There is simply no such thing as being “too busy” to get away. And you’re kidding yourself that you “can’t afford” the expense.

How does a trade show pay you back? Let’s count the ways. As we do so, let’s assume you’re not just going to dip your toe in the water, driving in for a day to look at the exhibits. Let’s assume you’ll be there for the duration, from the opening bell until the lights go down on the last day.

What’s your outlay? Transportation costs. Three or four nights in a hotel. Meals and miscellaneous expenses. The tab depends on how you travel: Car or airplane? Top-of-the-line hotel or “sleep-cheap”? Steak dinners or fast-food burgers? Then there’s the show admission. Add it all up (you can do your own math) and it’s not a huge expense, at either end of the luxury scale.

Getting it back

Now, let’s look at the payback. There are two kinds of return on trade show investment: tangibles, and intangibles that soon become very tangible.

The first tangible is direct savings. You can often find show-special pricing on equipment and supplies that isn’t available any other time. By stocking up on items you’re sure to need, you can instantly recover some of your costs.

Things you learn can quickly save you money, too. Suppose a seminar teaches you how to cut phone and computing costs, route your fleet more efficiently, reduce bad debts, or streamline maintenance? One or two solid tips along those lines might recoup all your show expenses in a year or less.

Then there’s the revenue side. Odds are you will learn things you can take right back and apply in customers’ homes or out in the streets and rights-of-way. A new technique that adds value to a job or lets you offer add-on services starts boosting your profits immediately.

Also tangible (though longer-term in its impact) is the discovery of equipment that lets you add a profitable new line of business or gives you a competitive advantage in an existing line. A new manhole sealing system, video inspection outfit, jetting rig, or trenchless rehabilitation system can open a whole new market and, in time, boost your revenue by 10, 15, 20 percent, or more. That’s not a one-time increase in business — it’s a source of revenue and profit that continues year after year.

Sure, you can shop for equipment from your office using print ads and the Internet. But a trade show is the place to see firsthand the newest and best of everything. You’ll see things there that you could easily miss otherwise. You’ll be able to “kick tires,” make comparisons, and choose the equipment that best fits your business profile.

Value of intangibles

Don’t overlook the intangibles — they can be worth just as much. One of the greatest benefits of attending a trade show is meeting other business people who share your issues and concerns.

Around home, the industry peers you meet are likely to be competitors — not interested in giving you a hand. At a show, you’ll meet people from other states and even other countries — people who will gladly share how they solved the same nasty problem that’s been nettling you.

There are many stories of people who got their money’s worth from a trade show without even stepping on the exhibit floor — by swapping “war stories” with new acquaintances over dinner the night before the show opened.

Those relationships don’t begin and end with the show. You might make a friend who welcomes you to call for advice anytime (and would like the privilege of getting similar help from you).

Aiming higher

Finally, attendance at a trade show can change your whole outlook on the industry. It makes you feel a part of something much bigger than your business. It lets you meet highly successful people and discover possibilities you never knew existed. It helps you set loftier goals and gives you the tools to reach them.

Put aside the excuses. Release the fear of stepping away from the business for a few days. Attend your industry’s signature trade show. Immerse yourself in it. You’ll find out how much better business life can be.