Small Business Expo better than ever!

PRESS RELEASE FROM SARAH TROTMAN & ASSOCIATES

Re: Small Business Expo, Auckland, 30 May - 1 June, 2007

For immediate release, 22 March 2007

Business owners take note – the 2007 Small Business Expo better than ever!

This year’s Small Business Expo – being run in Auckland for the third successive year – is simply brimming with ideas and information for owners of small to medium-size businesses according to organiser Sarah Trotman.

As Trotman explains, most business owners value the opportunities to think about growing and improving their business but many are so caught up in the day-to-day running of their business that they can’t find the time.

“Time is a finite resource and when you’ve got a business to run, it’s not always easy to allocate time to explore ways of running your business more effectively and productively,” says Trotman, the managing director of Sarah Trotman & Associates and a business support sector specialist.

“That’s where the Small Business Expo comes in ... a one-stop-shop with over 200 providers of quality products and services all focused on helping the owners of small to medium-size businesses.

“With the valued support of our sponsors Vodafone, Vero, apnfinda, OGGI and Newstalk ZB, we urge business owners in the greater Auckland area to mark the dates 30/31 May and 1 June in their diaries to make sure they allocate the time to participate in the most useful business event they’re likely to attend this year.”

Trotman continues: “There is so much valuable information available to business owners at this year’s Auckland Small Business Expo simply by talking to our exhibitors and through our free seminars, The National Bank Seminar Series with 40 experts speaking presenting highly-usable ideas and facts – the seminars run during all three days of the expo.

“With three halls of Auckland’s ASB Showgrounds filled with exhibitors – from software to telecommunications, courier services to legal and financial advice, travel specialists to office equipment – there are a lot of opportunities for business owners to investigate the best options available to help them grow their business in one easy-to-navigate location,” says Trotman who adds that the Small Business Expo is the largest event held for business in New Zealand.

Specific initiatives intended to enhance the overall experience for business owners attending the expo include the development of strategic zones grouping similar companies together in logical areas. “Areas such as the Vero National Business Support Zone, which has a full range of business support agencies, help make it easier for the time-pressed business owner to identify key areas where they’re seeking information or assistance with a particular aspect of their business, and then they can target the most relevant exhibitors,” says Trotman who adds that with 2007 being the government’s official Export Year, a new Export Zone will be of real value to business owners seeking exporting advice.

Business owners can come to the Small Business Expo to:

-          seek the advice of a trained business mentor about a range of topics in the Vodafone Business Mentoring Zone which is being run by exhibitor Icon Business Solutions;

-          discuss courier, telecommunication or banking solutions with exhibitors like NZ Couriers, Telecom, Nokia, Vodafone, HiFX, ANZ and The National Bank;

-          talk to a business broker, valuer or lawyer about buying or selling their business with exhibitors like Franchise Consultants in the Business Brokering Zone;

-          find out the ways various government departments can assist new and existing businesses in the Ministry of Economic Development ‘Fast Track your Business’ Zone’;

-          investigate the latest options for new office furniture, equipment or software with exhibitors like OfficeMax, Canon, Microsoft and PC Rentals;

-          discuss alternatives for investments, insurance and trusts with exhibitors like Vero, Southern Cross Healthcare and Public Trust;

-          access vital information for exporting products and services in the new Export Zone;

-          seek advice specific to Maori and Pacific Island business owners in the Te Puni Kokiri Maori Business Development Zone and the Pacific Capacity Building Zone;

-          understand the wide range of valuable research and data available to business owners in the Statistics New Zealand Business Information Zone;

-          and relax, check their email or network with other business owners in the Newstalk ZB Cyber Café.

“It’s very encouraging to see that we’ve struck the right note with business owners who really enjoy this opportunity to spend a few hours, a whole day or even all three days working on their business, rather than in their business,” says Trotman.

“Last year over 7,000 business owners visited the Auckland event with attendee numbers sure to eclipse last year’s total. Independent exit data taken by TouchPoll revealed that 96% of attendees surveyed rated their expo visit as excellent, good or satisfactory and 88% said that they would return for the 2007 Small Business Expo.

With over 90 per cent of exhibitor space sold for the Auckland Small Business Expo, Trotman also urges prospective exhibitors to make contact quickly if they want to be involved.

The Small Business Expo runs from Wednesday 30 May to Friday 1 June, 2007, at the ASB Showgrounds in Greenlane, Auckland. Tickets are $20, available at the door and include attendance to all three days of the expo, all the exhibition halls and The National Bank Seminar Series.

The Small Business Expo 2007 website will soon have full details of the speakers and topics being covered in The National Bank Seminar Series. From the website, www.businessexpo.co.nz prospective attendees can:

-          purchase tickets online;

-          pre-register for specific sessions of The National Bank Seminar Series;

-          pre-register for free appointments in the Business Brokering Zone and the Vodafone Business Mentoring Zone.

ENDS

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