Existing
and aspiring small-business owners can learn how to harness the power of the
Web to sell their products and market their business to statewide, national,
and global customers—and get innovative business-planning assistance—at the second
Selling to the World Expo coming to Middlesboro, Ky.
With
grant support from the Sam’s Club Shared Vision program and The New York
Community Trust, SKCTC is teaming up with workforce,
economic development, and community partners to host the two-day conference,
set for June 25 and 26 at the Middlesboro campus of Southeast Kentucky
Community and Technical College (SKCTC).
Partners
include the Eastern Kentucky Concentrated Employment Program, Inc. (EKCEP),
Kentucky Highlands Investment Corporation, Kentucky Small Business Development
Center, Discover Downtown Middlesboro, and the National Association for
Community College Entrepreneurship (NACCE).
The Selling
to the World Expo will benefit not only small businesses that may be struggling
to build an online presence, but also crafters and artisans who spend their
weekends selling items locally, according to SKCTC Vice President Dr. Vic Adams.
The event
will teach these sellers how to compete online and use various Internet tools
and strategies to build their businesses, expand their markets, and boost
profits, he added.
“The
Internet can represent an entirely new market for our small business owners and
artisans,” Adams said. “There may be some hesitation to tap into that market
due to possible technological barriers or other reasons, but this expo is
designed to lead folks step-by-step so that they can learn to literally market
what they’re selling to the world.”
New for
this year’s Expo, participants can also learn how to build a rock-solid plan to
organize and grow a business or business concept using the GrowthWheel model, a
unique, customizable way of focusing on specific areas of need in a start-up or
growth business.
GrowthWheel
is a visual toolbox for business decision-making and action-planning that was
designed around the observation that all businesses, in all industries and life
stages, have four lasting challenges in common. They must create an attractive
Business Concept, build a strong Organization behind it, develop lasting Client
Relations, and do all while maintaining profitable Operations. GrowthWheel
helps entrepreneurs build their businesses through a simple, action-oriented
process that stays true to the way most entrepreneurs think and work.
Participants
will be able to start with sessions that will be most beneficial to them, but will
get a chance to experience each of the four key GrowthWheel sessions—led by Certified
GrowthWheel Advisors from Eastern Kentucky—during the two-day Expo.
“This year
we want to give our participants a tool that will not only help them get
started in business, but aid existing small business owners plan their growth
and chart their expansion,” Adams said. “GrowthWheel provides us that tool, and
this year’s schedule will allow participants to sit in on each of the four
related sessions without having to miss anything.”
Attendees will have
the opportunity to attend concurrent sessions covering a wide variety of topics
during the Expo’s second day, from Web design for small businesses and basic bookkeeping, to
learning how to grow your business with social media marketing.
Other
session topics during the two-day conference include:
·
Small
Business 101 and Creating a
Winning Business Plan
·
USDA Food Guidelines
·
How to Patent Your Product or Idea
·
Fulfillment by Amazon
·
Capital Business Loans
·
From Hobby to
Profit
·
Business Law
·
Market Research and Strategy
·
Photography for Marketing
·
Selling
at Trade Shows
·
Exporting
Those who
attend the expo will receive one year of free business consulting from the
Kentucky Small Business Development Center to help them build upon the lessons
learned at the event.
Fifteen attendees
will also be selected to participate in a special program to receive free one-on-one
custom business consulting at The Palace in downtown Middlesboro.
Local
vendors offering products or services useful to business will also be on hand
during the event.
“This expo
is the perfect opportunity for small business owners or someone who either
wants to turn a hobby into a full-time business, or turn a hobby into a really
good supplement to their income,” Adams said.
Anyone
interested in attending the Selling to the World Expo can pre-register through
June 5 for $30, or register on-site for $50 per person. Registration fees cover
all expo activities such as speaker sessions, concurrent workshop sessions, GrowthWheel
sessions, meals, and vendor trade show.
A limited
number of scholarships covering the registration fee will be available for individuals
who are willing to complete an application essay that illustrates how they will
benefit from attending the conference and have a restricted travel budget. The
deadline to apply is June 12.
To
pre-register or download a scholarship application online, visit www.selling2theworldexpo.com and click the “Attend” tab.
Any area
business interested in presenting during the expo’s vendor trade show can
download a vendor registration packet online on the event’s Website through the
“Be a Vendor” tab. There are no setup fees to showcase your business during the
expo.
About the Sam’s Club
Giving Program
Sam’s Club Giving supports community-based programs that empower
young people, families and small businesses to make smart choices that lead to
healthy and bright futures. In 2011, Sam’s Club and the Sam’s Club Giving
Program made cash and in-kind contributions of more than $101 million, which
included donating more than 38 million meals. Visit SamsClub.com/giving for
more information.
About The New York
Community Trust
Through the generosity
of New Yorkers and others who have set up charitable funds, The New York
Community Trust is able to make grants for a huge range of charitable activity
that is important to the well-being and vitality of that city–and beyond. Since
1924, The New York Community Trust has helped make donors’ charitable dreams
come true by funding the nonprofits that make communities a vital and secure
place. The Trust ended 2013 with assets of $2.4 billion in more than 2,000
charitable funds, and made grants totaling $141 million. The New York Community
Trust is providing direct support to Selling To The World—and Eastern
Kentucky–through a grant from the Oakley L. and Ethel Witherspoon Alexander
Fund included in a round of grants awarded in December 2014 to 51 groups
totaling $7.4 million. Visit www.nycommunitytrust.org.
About NACCE
The
National
Association for Community College Entrepreneurship (NACCE) is an organization of
educators, administrators, presidents and entrepreneurs, focused on inciting
entrepreneurship in their community and on their campus. NACCE has two main
goals: 1. Empower the college to approach the business of running a community
college with an entrepreneurial mindset; and 2. Grow the community college’s
role in supporting job creation and entrepreneurs in their local ecosystem.
Founded
in 2002, NACCE is at the heart of the "entrepreneurship movement.” Through
membership, an annual conference and exhibition, regional summits, a quarterly
journal, monthly webinars, a dynamic list-serv, and training resources, NACCE
serves as the hub for the dissemination and integration of knowledge and
successful practices regarding entrepreneurial leadership, entrepreneurship
education and student business incubation. These initiatives and resulting
actions advance economic prosperity in the communities served by its member
colleges. NACCE is a founding member of the White House-led Startup America Partnership. For more information, visit http://www.nacce.com.
Find the Selling to the World Expo Facebook page at
www.facebook.com/sellingtotheworldexpo, or find us online at www.selling2theworldexpo.com
.
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