Ocean State Small Business Expo to be Held October 3, 2012
RISBJ Staff | Aug 29, 2012
WARWICK, RI (August 14, 2012) – DiscoverYou Events, a North-Smithfield, RI-based exposition and event producer along with Jay White of Uncle Jay’s Networking, announces its 4th annual Ocean State Small Business Expo on Wednesday, October 3, 2012 from 11:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m., at the Crowne Plaza Hotel located at 801 Greenwich Avenue in Warwick, R.I.
The day-long event, co-sponsored by the Rhode Island Small Business Journal, Natural Awakenings magazine, PBS, GoGo Cast and Neighborhood Health Plan of Rhode Island, will have a “Business-to-Business” theme and feature over 100 exhibitors throughout the Crowne Plaza’s outdoor Garden Pavilion tent. The Expo will also include five educational breakout sessions led by area experts on various business topics, and a two-hour open networking event for attendees and guests. Admission is free with a business card.
“For the past four years, the Ocean State Small Business Expo has provided small businesses throughout Rhode Island the opportunity to network and learn the best practices of marketing and strategies to keep their organizations afloat in any economy,” states Susan Lataille, DiscoverYou Events producer. “Last year, we had over 1,000 people in attendance and about 100 exhibitors, but this year we expect those numbers to increase substantially due to the improved business climate and the new Expo partnerships we have forged.”
This year marks the first time that the Rhode Island Small Business Journal (RISBJ) is co-sponsoring the event. “We are eager to work with the Expo organizers to make this event more successful than it has been in previous years,” comments Gil Lantini, publisher of the Rhode Island Small Business Journal. “The Ocean State Small Business Expo is directly aligned with what we believe at RISBJ, which is helping small business owners spread the word about what they do and who they are.”
Featured speakers for Ocean State Small Business Expo 2012 are as follows:
11:15 a.m. – James Bennett, Director, Economic Development, City of Providence, & Chairman, RI Convention Center, will present a general overview of activity in Providence with the new Director of Economic Development, and the exciting new business developments within the downtown and Knowledge District.
12 p.m. – Robert Beadle, President Northeast Public Relations, will present the 7 Secrets of Overnight Success Stories: How to Get Your Business Featured in the News. If you are a small business owner who is struggling to find customers or have you tried to get your business featured in the news you are going to love what Robert is going to share with you on October 3rd!
1 p.m. – Betty Galligan, APR, president/founder of Newberry Public Relations and Marketing (East Providence, RI), will present “Social Media Marketing for Business” to help attendees navigate through the multitude of social media channels available and discover how best to interact “socially” with key customers and prospects. Topics of the presentation will include the importance of segmenting audiences for marketing success, how to develop engaging and relevant content, determining which social media channels are best, developing an integrated campaign, and measuring social media initiatives.
2 p.m. – Corissa St. Laurent, regional development director for Constant Contact, New England, will present “Engagement Marketing: Building relationships to build your business” for attendees to learn how to inspire, inform, and create long-term meaningful connections with engagement marketing using the three key elements to building lasting engagement; and “Power of Email Marketing: Staying top-of-mind through the inbox” which looks at best practices and winning strategies for getting and keeping quality subscribers, increasing deliverability and open rates, writing good headlines and content, saving time, getting readers to take action, and more.
4 p.m. – Darren Marinelli, creative director of Artinium, presents “Thumbability: Making Your Business Mobile Friendly”. With the amazing popularity of mobile phone devices, business cannot afford to overlook the impact of mobile marketing techniques and strategies. We will explore these techniques and strategies in an open forum session.
5 p.m. – Gil Lantini, founder of the Rhode Island Small Business Journal, will present “From Employee to Entrepreneur” for attendees that are considering making the transition from full time employment or unemployment to becoming their own boss. This presentation will help with both a personal and business assessment as well as provide many steps necessary to prepare and build your first company.
Educational breakout sessions begin at 12:00 p.m., each running for 50 minutes both inside the hotel and in the pavilion tent; and the open networking session is scheduled from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. with food provided by the Crowne Plaza.
Exhibitor space is still available for $225 per booth with a 10% discount for reserving two or more tables (not including electrical and Internet connections). Set-up for exhibitors is from 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.
Sponsorship packages are also available – including Silver ($1,000), Gold ($2,500), Platinum ($5,000) and Media ($10,000) levels with varying degrees of vendor space included in each package, among other incentives.
For more information, contact Susan Lataille at DiscoverYou Events, (401) 769-1325 x 11 or susan@discoveryouevents.com or Jay White at 401-265-5373 or jaywhitebiz1@cox.net or visit http://www.oceanstatesmallbusinessexpo.com.
Established in 2009 by Susan Lataille, DiscoverYou Events is a production and event planning company that produces expositions and fairs throughout Rhode Island. Each year, DiscoverYou Events produces the Ocean State Small Business Expo, a networking and expo event for the Rhode Island business community; Out of the Box Networking Socials, held the first Tuesday of every month that bring business owners from different industries together in a casual setting; the Wellness Expo (formerly the Holistic and Wellness Expo), an event that showcases health and wellness businesses and organizations; and the All Hallows Eve Psychic Fair, which offers a range of psychic talent including tarot card and angel readers as well as mediums and group readings. DiscoverYou Events is located at 75A Eddie Dowling Highway in North Smithfield, RI 02896; phone: 401-769-1325 x11; web: http://www.discoveryouevents.com
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