Maybe you should ask the local breeders who vend at shows in addition to your friend. When I went to the Sacramento show last Fall, the ball python only breeders seemed to be doing pretty decent. I bought a female pastel from Heather Wong(Heather's Herps or LadyOhh here on Bp.net) at the last show. She vends in Socal as well. I'm sure she'll give some good pointers if you ask.

And Brian Gundy from For Goodness Snakes vends in Sacramento from the Bay Area. He has amazing looking balls. He's really helpful and good about responding to questions too.

Honestly, I find that shows are more for publicity than to get actual sales. As a new breeder, its important to get your name out there and get exposure. Have healthy animals, a nice table set up, decent buisness cards and you're good to go.

Good luck. I'll probably see you at the Sac show later this year.