Small Business Trends

As Spring finally shows signs of taking hold in the northern hemisphere, there are lots of great events coming up for entrepreneurs.

******

Growing Profits and Revenue with Low Cost Tech Tools
March 30, 2010, 2:00pm ET, Webinar

Email marketing is one of the most cost effective ways for businesses to stay in touch with customers and build long-lasting and profitable relationships.  This is great news for small and growing businesses, who need to get their messages directly to targeted audiences.

This webinar will break down a real case study of how one small business slashed their marketing costs and skyrocketed their results, and translate their success into solid steps on how you can do the same. Featuring Melanie Attia, Product Marketing Manager for Campaigner and Elaine Bolle, Chief Marketing Officer for Clinical Research Site Training.

51 Fatal Business Errors Workshop
March 30, 2010, Montclair State University, NJ

CEOs and Business Owners in the New Jersey area are invited to an exclusive seminar to learn about “The 51 Fatal Errors and How to Avoid Them.”  Meet and interact with Jim Muehlhausen CPA, JD author of this bestselling book. You will come away informed and on the path to be “The Best CEO You Can Be”. In these turbulent economic times you cannot afford to be anything less.   His event is open to CEO’s and business owners in the NJ counties of Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Morris, Passaic, Sussex, Union and Warren.

The Technology of Collaboration with John Jantsch
March 31, 2010, 10:00AM PT, Webinar

Small business has become less about building and selling and more about collaborating and engaging. In this session you’ll learn about a growing and changing suite of tools that any small business can tap to work more effectively and efficiently with your entire collaboration universe including prospects, customers, suppliers, advisors, partners and competitors.

Entrepreneurship in Tough Times
April 6, 2010, Houston, TX

An evening of networking and keynote speech by Kanwal Rekhi, one of the biggest driving forces behind TiE, an eighteen-year old organization with chapters in 55 countries in six continents. Rekhi’s venture capital firm, Inventus Capital Partners has generated over $30 billion in aggregate wealth and market value in their 15 year track record.

MarketingSherpa’s Email Marketing Essentials Workshop Training
Multi-City Tour

Theory works well in a classroom, but how does it translate in the real world? What makes MarketingSherpa’s Email Marketing Essentials Workshop unique is our trusted Case Study approach to learning. Using Case Studies and research as a basis, every tactic discussed during the course has been proven. This one-day workshop is based on MarketingSherpa’s Best Practices in Email Marketing Handbook. You’ll receive a FREE copy ($497 value) to be used as your textbook during the course that you can take back to your office for future reference. Use it as your on-the-job reference guide to build a ‘best in class’ email program that will meet and exceed your marketing goals. Register now to get $100 off regular price of $995.

April 6, Philadelphia, PA
April 20, Washington, DC
May 11, Denver, CO
May 13, Seattle, WA
June 21, Chapel Hill, NC
June 25, Atlanta, GA
July 20, Minneapolis, MN
August 10, San Diego, CA
August 13, Phoenix, AZ

Keep Current Customers Loyal: Offer coupons/incentives and do it right so you generate buzz
April 7, 2010, 2:00PM EDT, Webinar

Join Anita Campbell for this 1 hour webinar discussion on the growing trends in offering customer coupons and incentives.  You’ll learn everything you need to know about:

- coupon trends
- ways to distribute coupons
- how to spread word of discounts
- how to get others to spread the word

Finding and Generating Quality Leads
April 07, 2010, Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio

The speaker, Suzanne Carle, has a proven track record of success and will be sharing her secrets for finding and keeping customers. The event is free. The information is invaluable. Brought to you by COSE, the Council of Smaller Enterprises.

Loco for Local: Get Fiercely Local Customers Close to You!
April 8, 2010, 10:00AM PT, Webinar

Business expert Anita Campbell offers a 10-point checklist for getting more sales from the local community. If you run a business where the majority of your customers come from a 100-mile radius, then you won’t want to miss this session. You will learn how to:

- use social media to develop loyal local customers
- claim and optimize your local listings in the search engines
- get the most from your local networking
- send direct mail tips won’t cost an arm and a leg
- get local customers to sign up for your email newsletter
- trigger word of mouth from local customers
- explore new methods of marketing, such as mobile marketing.

Creating a Social Marketing Architecture
April 8, 2010, 2:00 – 3:00 p.m. (EDT), Webinar

During this complimentary webinar, MarketingSherpa’s Director of Research, Sergio Balegno, will use case studies and research from the 2010 Social Media Marketing Benchmark Guide. You will learn how to:

* Tie in your social objectives to your target audiences and their behaviors
* Select platforms with a clear and manageable purpose
* Manage your central hubs for optimal conversion and SEO
* Create feeder sites for building relationships and driving traffic
* Understand the B2B value of Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, Flickr, and other social platforms.

Small Business Forum for SMC Industry Days
April 8, 2010, Long Beach, CA

This annual event educates industry and government personnel on current and upcoming programs at the Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC). This year’s theme is “Facing a New Space Reality for the Next Five to Fifteen Years…Cyber, Protection, Budgets, and Architectures.

Conference details and registration information can be found at the website. Participation by small and small disadvantaged businesses is highly encouraged.

Some Assembly Required: How to Integrate Visibility As Part Of Your Business Development Plan
April 12, 2010, 3:00pm CDT, Webinar

Marketing, Sales, Business Development, PR, Social Media, Networking, Advertising and Branding do not happen by accident. If you are a small business, professional services firm, or individual you cannot afford to hire teams of people to handle all these important business disciplines.

This event explores how your marketing plan, business development efforts, customer service, referral network, PR and social media and advertising can work together to create your personal and professional brand in your business community.

The NY Brand Lab
Four Mondays starting April 12, 2010, New York City

The NY Brand Lab is a work-in-progress & highly-structured ‘lab setting’ where, in a series of three-hour sessions per week over four weeks, a group of ambitious, smart and curious entrepreneurs and CEOs, like you, are going to get to the bottom of a couple of serious things:

* What’s not specifically working in your biz
* Where the point of pain is when it comes to your biz brand
* What your brand is really communicating about you and your services/product
* How to step up to the plate and own a bigger, bolder and more provocative brand that is 100% YOU

Early Bird Registration is $797. Use code ZING for an additional $47 discount.

New York Entrepreneur Week
April 12-16, 2010

New York Entrepreneur Week (NYEW) is a non-profit movement formed around a single belief: entrepreneurs change the world. And now is the time for entrepreneurs who have the will and drive to prove they can achieve anything, to stand up and come together in New York State for another groundbreaking NYEW event.

With over 100 speakers from 40 cities, 15 states and 3 continents, NYEW unites the state’s diverse entrepreneurial community; giving you the opportunity to connect with and learn from New York’s best and brightest entrepreneurs who are relentless, driven and dedicated to improving your business and the economy. View the full agenda here.

New York Entrepreneur Week encompasses five days of innovative and hyper-targeted events, including:

* Inspiring keynote speeches from recognized business leaders
* Riveting panels delivering relevant mission-critical advice
* The flagship RELENTLESS business plan competition

New Marketing Experience 2010
April 13, 2010, San Francisco, CA

Imagine a world where you can take your One Big Ideaâ„¢ and tap over 100 other participating conference attendee and experts and each of their One Big Ideas. All in a structured, fast-paced and highly interactive one-day program under the direction of Chris Brogan and the team from New Marketing Labs.

Unlike other programs, this event will facilitate you working directly with your peers in a group of 15-20 professionals to explore in detail the topics covered in the program. In addition, each attendee will leave with one book from the conference with all of the big ideas from the attendees as well as the results of the deep dives on the topics discussed.

Local Events for Local Customers with Ramon Ray
April 14, 2010, 10:00AM PDT, Webina

Hosting local events helps build strong loyalty and love with your customers. We’ll be discussing: • How to come up with an exciting idea for your event • How to promote it and get a strong turnout • Ways to get maximum marketing mileage out of your local event, even after it’s over • Working with local politicians and chambers of commerce and more

10 PAGE BUSINESS PLAN DESIGN WORKSHOP
April 16, 2010, New York City

This workshop enables leaders to prepare Complete, Convincing and Compelling business plans to obtain grants, VC and corporate finance, partners and customers for start ups, spin-outs and expansions. We leverage the ’10 PAGE BUSINESS PLAN DESIGN FRAMEWORK’â„¢ built on a proven track record of raising over $300 million of financing.

Women In Business: Strategic Planning Simplified
April 19, 2010, Teleconference

Is is time to “re-think” the business you’ve been running? Do you need help nurturing your business to a new level? Is it time to learn how to set better priorities and make your business hum like a well-oiled machine? The One Page Business Plan® is absolutely the fastest, easiest way for women business owners to write a plan. It’s designed to quickly extract your best ideas and put them onto a single page. The simple 5-step process incorporates the use of powerful questions and fill-in-the-blank templates to guide you effectively. Create a draft of your plan in 90 minutes.

Business Plans: A Roadmap Is Essential!
April 20, 2010, New York City

You have questions …
* Do I need a business plan to get a bank loan?
* Will a plan help me run my business?
* How do I write one? What is the basic format?
* Should I do it myself – or do I need a consultant or accountant?
* Can SCORE help me with my business plan?
… We have answers.

SCORE counselors are available for one-on-one follow-up help to answer all your business questions.

140 Characters Conference
April 20-21, 2010, New York City

The 140 Characters Conference: New York City (#140conf) provides a platform for the worldwide twitter community to: listen, connect, share and engage with each other, while collectively exploring the effects of the emerging real-time internet on business.

The format at the #140conf events is unique. Individual talks are 5 and 10 minutes, keynotes are 15 and 20 minutes and panel discussions are no more than 20 minutes. During the course of the two days more than 140 people will share the stage in about 70 sessions.
“Early Bird” registration of $100 ends on March 5th.

OSDBU Procurement Conference – Procurement Matchmaking
April 21, 2010, Chantilly, VA

The 20th Annual OSDBU Procurement Conference is a national conference fostering business partnerships between the Federal Government, its Prime Contractors, and small, minority, service-disabled veteran-owned, veteran-owned, HUBZone, and women-owned businesses. More info and registration here.

Veteran’s Small Business Conference
April 28, 2010, Cary, NC

Now, more than ever, the federal government is seeking to assist veteran business owners in earning their fair share of government contracting opportunities. With this in mind, the US Small Business Administration, the SBTDC NC Procurement Technical Assistance Center, and the NC Military Business Center have come together to provide veterans this informative half-day seminar on how to navigate through the government procurement maze. Information on how to start a business will also be provided.

Topics include:

Basics of Government Contracting
Eligibility & Joint Ventures
Teaming & Subcontracting
Accounting & Legal Issues
SBA Financing & Patriot Express Loans

Also for start-up businesses:

Business Basics
Legal aspects
Credit issues

Michigan Celebrates Small Business
April 29, 2010

Michigan Celebrates Small Business is a premier annual program to recognize entrepreneurs and small business supporters in a variety of categories. The program is a cooperative effort of the U.S. Small Business Administration – Michigan, the Small Business Association of Michigan, the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, the Michigan Small Business & Technology Development Center and the Edward Lowe Foundation.

Social Media Success Summit
May 4-25, 2010, Online

Social Media Success Summit 2010 is the web’s largest live online conference that will empower you to use social media to gain more exposure, better engage customers and grow your business.  Join 24 experts, including Guy Kawasaki (author, Art of the Start), Chris Brogan (author, Social Media 101), Darren Rowse (author, ProBlogger), Mari Smith (author, Facebook Marketing), Greg Jarboe (author, YouTube and Video Marketing), Kim Dushinski (author, Mobile Marketing Handbook); experts from Best Buy, Home Depot, Whole Foods, Foursquare and Groupon; Steve Rubel (Edelman), Ann Handley (MarketingProfs), Brian Clark (Copyblogger), Jason Falls (Social Media Explorer), Jay Baer (Convince & Convert) and Ramon De Leon (Chicago Domino’s Pizza).

The 11th Annual Department of Energy Small Business Conference & Expo
May 10-12, 2010, Atlanta, GA

The Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization, is proud to present The 11th Annual DOE Small Business Conference featuring plenaries, educational workshops, an Exhibit Hall with 200+ exhibitors/sponsors, as well as business matchmaking sessions. Over 1,600 attendees will represent all levels of federal, state, and local government agencies, the small business community, large/prime contractors, and many more.

Working Capital Executive Breakfast
May 13, 2010, Dallas, TX

The No. 1 concern for businesses in today’s credit crisis is liquidity. Register for our Complimentary Executive Breakfast and find out how you can generate working capital to keep your company viable and grow. During the briefing, you will learn how to:

* Increase liquidity in as little as 24 hours
* Take control of your working capital management
* Lower your cost of capital through a competitive marketplace
* Protect your business from increasing DSOs
* Secure financing that is less restrictive than traditional bank financing

unGeeked Elite
May 13-15, 2010, Milwaukee, WI

unGEEKING is the widespread adoption of trends, strategies, and tools that allow us to enhance and embrace internal and external marketing campaigns, enhance customer service, strategize effective sales efforts, and develop better PR campaigns. This nationally-focused event will share a wealth of knowledge, tools and best practices in all those areas and more.

Throughout the three-day event, participants will learn about positioning your internal and external brand; managing inbound and outbound marketing efforts; facilitating online customer relationships; building strategic public relations campaigns; and monitoring social trends among clients and customers. The loose format will be “Take the Mic,” in which attendees are encouraged to ask questions and openly engage in dialogue with keynoters and expert presenters.

Wiliamette Angel Conference
May 13, 2010, Eugene, OR

Attend the first-ever angel investor conference to hit the Eugene community. A highlight of the Conference will be two different types of business plan pitches. All submitting companies must be emerging-growth, and seeking somewhere between $200,000 and $2 million in seed/early-stage funding.

The first set of pitches are wildcards called IGNITE-STYLE PITCHES – where up to six start-ups will have the opportunity to deliver their business plan in 3.5 minutes (13 slides, automatically advance every 15 seconds).  The audience votes for the company they think has the most viable business plan. The winner will compete in the main pitch event, and vie for a minimum investment prize of $140,000.

The MAIN PITCH consists of six start-up companies (5 who have been pre-selected, plus the 1 wildcard winner) who each have 10 minutes to deliver their business plan.

National Small Business Week
May 23-25, 2010, Washington, DC

National Small Business Week 2010 will begin with three days of events in Washington, D.C., at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, where more than 100 outstanding business owners from across the country will be recognized. In addition to the State Small Business Persons of the Year, individuals involved in disaster recovery, government procurement, small business champions, as well as SBA partners in financial and entrepreneurial development will be honored.

Highlights of the event this year include: the Keynote speech by SBA Administrator Karen Mills; a town hall discussion on how small businesses are driving America’s economy; and a series of executive panel forums on Innovation, Exporting and Social Media.

Small Business Social Media Summit
June 4-6, 2010, Hutchinson, KS

Social media for small businesses presented by people using social media successfully in their business. Affordable summit JUST for the small business. Go home with a social media plan.

Creative Freelancer Conference
June 5-6, 2010, Denver, CO

The Creative Freelancer Conference is the first and only full-scale business conference for self-employed creative professionals. The goal? To help you maximize your freelance income by sharing best business practices and sage advice from seasoned solopreneurs who’ve learned through experience what works, and what doesn’t. The program is geared toward freelance graphic designers, copywriters, illustrators and photographers, as well as solo practitioners of interactive, interior and industrial design.

eBay Developers Conference
June 8-10, 2010

At eBay DevCon 2010, the company will provide a myriad of ways for the eBay developer community to learn and interact with one another and with eBay team members and industry experts.

DevCon attendees will learn how to harness the power of eBay, the world’s largest online marketplace, in an exciting, engaging, three-day event that will include panels, technical labs, keynote addresses and “birds of a feather” groups where developers who build similar applications or use similar code can exchange ideas.

Social Security Administration Small Business Procurement Conference
June 10, 2010, Baltimore, MD

The Social Security Administration (SSA) will host it’s 3rd. annual small business procurement conference. Conference participants will receive information on the agency acquisition objectives during oral presentations from internal and external subject matter experts. Large businesses seeking to achieve supplier diversity with the small business community are encouraged to participate as exhibitors. Small business advocacy groups will be available as exhibitors to share advice and counsel.

FAA Small Business Conference for 2010 – “Moving Into The Next Generation”
June 28, 2010, Oklahoma City, OK

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will be conducting their Annual FAA National Small Business Procurement Opportunities Training Conference and Trade Show.

This outreach event is designed specifically for the small business seeking prime, subcontracting, and mentor-protege procurement opportunities. Workshops are information packed and the forums are designed for firms to network with one another as well as with government agency attendees. All types of businesses are encouraged to participate!

To find more small business events, contests and awards, visit our Small Business Events Calendar.

If you are putting on a small business contest, award or competition, and want to get the word out to the community, please submit it through our Events & Contests Submission Form (We do not charge a fee to be included in this listing — it is completely free to list your event.) Only events of interest to small business people, freelancers and entrepreneurs will be considered and included.