Small Business Resource Expo Connects Entrepreneurs
Markell Shea and Wanda Haley represent BerkshireJobs, BerkshireMenus and iBerkshires at the expo on June 30.
That brought her to last week's Small Business Resource Expo at the Stationery Factory, where she was making connections with other like-minded entrepreneurs.
"Meeting and greeting and allowing people to see my face and put a name and, you know, smile with that," she said while having lunch with two other small-business owners — fellow tea purveyor Kristena Turner of Pittsfield and Eva Schegulla of North Adams, who operates Fearless Ink, a freelance content and marketing consulting company.
Jones owns Chocolate Is Self-Care, a "tea company for adventurous drinkers," is a confidence-building coach and hosts a podcast, "MissInformed." Turner is getting her ecommerce-based business of the ground and Schegulla was making contacts.
"This has helped us connect with some small businesses and more resources. So this is beautiful," Turner said. "I'm all about local businesses and connecting and that's why I'm here. It's bringing the community together."
Schegulla said she had "so many business cards and I have so much following up to do with a lot of the businesses where I'd heard of them, but I had never actually had time to sit and talk to them for a few minutes."
The Resource Expo brought together more than 30 businesses, lending institutions and organizations (including iBerkshires and BerkshireJobs) to explain how they can support the region's small businesses. The morning long event was hosted by 1Berkshire in partnership with Berkshire Regional Planning Commission, Berkshire Immigrant Center, E for All, Pittsfield Economic Revitalization Corp. and Massachusetts LGBT Chamber of Commerce.
"We're bullish on the Berkshires," said David Harrington, vice president of commercial lending at event underwriter Lee Bank in welcoming the attendees. "We're extremely bullish on small businesses."
In addition to connecting with potential resources — ranging from funding to employment to advertising to training — there were three panels for participants to drop in at.
1Berkshires' Vice President of Economic Development Benjamin Lamb talked about how to get the best out of the expo during the first of three panels that morning.
"It's really important to know who's out there to support you before you need them," he said. "Because if you're only looking when it's urgent, you are likely to miss the opportunities and resources that are out there."
Senior Vice President of Tourism & Marketing Lindsey Schmid, social media strategist Kaitlyn Pierce and Liam Gorman of Cozquest discussed marketing resources during the second panel.
Pierce, of Pierce Social, said entrepreneurs should consider that people on social media are taking time to interact their business, noting that if someone had walked up to talk with them "maybe you wouldn't give them a thumbs up."
"I think social media has made us forget that part a little bit like we treat it like a transaction and it's not a transaction," she said. "That's why having a million followers really isn't a good goal. ... If you think about especially locally our most successful, long-standing businesses, chances are you know who owns the businesses or who the family is or just something about them because they treat you like a person when you see them. You can do that on social media, you can really invest in the followers."
Amanda LaCroix of the state's Supplier Diversity Office explained the criteria, process and opportunities for diverse business categories — veteran, disabled, woman, minority or LGTBQ-plus owned — to become certified with the state during the third and final panel.
Schegulla said she particularly interested in LaCroix's presentation because of her past work with government contractors. "I just found that was fascinating because I've done work with my legislature wherever I've lived in the country," she said. "I've written legislation I've done all that."
Lamb said events like the expo can uncover some hidden gems in the Berkshires' small-business world.
"When we do these types of events, the types of businesses that I didn't know existed or are trying to exist, and then they come together and you're like, 'oh, my God, all of this stuff is right in our back yard,'" he said. "We had 33 different resource providers here networking with each other and networking with the attendees. We had attendees creating new networks. It's just great to see that and hear it happening organically in a space like this."
Tags: 1Berkshire, expo, small business,
