Small Business Times will launch the Wisconsin Business and Technology Expo, designed to be the largest business-to-business exposition in the state, in 2005.
The two-day networking and informational event will be open to all businesspeople and will be the first of its kind in Wisconsin, said Dan Meyer, publisher of Small Business Times.
The expo will include educational seminars, after-hours networking, two awards ceremonies and will accommodate as many as 180 exhibitors.
"The purpose of the expo is to facilitate commerce by bringing buyers and sellers in the region together in a cohesive environment and to provide potential buyers with a real life experience of companies in the region," Meyer said.
The event will take place April 20 and 21, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Wisconsin Exposition Center at State Fair Park, 8200 W. Greenfield Ave., West Allis.
Individual tickets will cost $15, but each exhibitor will receive free admission tickets to hand out to existing and potential customers.
Throughout both days, 30-minute educational seminars will be held on topics such as succession planning, banking, technology, human resources, negotiation, execution, sales management, productivity improvement, leadership, family business, dealing with the media and public relations and branding.
The Expo will include the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Business Conference and the Bravo Entrepreneur Award luncheon on April 20 and the Innovation in Business Award luncheon on April 21.
After-hours business networking will be held April 20 from 4:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.
"We are excited to be able to provide attendees with an advanced integrated marketing opportunity," Meyer said. "Small Business Times began a daily e-mail newsletter (www.biztimes.com/daily) this year in addition to our printed newspaper, and now with the tradeshow we can provide prospective customers with a real-life experience of companies in Wisconsin."
All local chambers of commerce and their members will invited to participate in the event.
The Wisconsin Business and Technology Expo is modeled after a similar event that has been held annually for 20 years in Baton Rouge, La. The Louisiana event is presented by the Baton Rouge Business Report. Last year, the event drew 5,000 attendees over two days and featured 192 exhibitors, according to Julio Melara, president and co-owner of the Baton Rouge Business Report.
"The Expo is a business shopping mall," Melara said. "It is a great investment for exhibitors and a great opportunity for attendees to check out some of the best resources and tools for business that are offered right there in their own backyard."
Melara said the Louisiana event has become the Baton Rouge area’s premier business networking event.
"Part of the purpose is to help business people connect with one another and to help showcase the latest technologies and business solutions," Melara said.
The Wisconsin Business and Technology Expo’s two awards programs, the Southeastern Wisconsin Bravo Entrepreneur Awards and the Innovation in Business Awards, will be open to any individual or business that is based in or has a location in southeastern Wisconsin, Meyer said.
The Bravo Entrepreneur Award will be given to one entrepreneur from each county in the Small Business Times circulation area, which includes Milwaukee, Waukesha, Walworth, Kenosha, Racine, Ozaukee, Washington and Sheboygan counties. The Innovation in Business Awards will be given to companies in southeastern Wisconsin that have created a clever and unique product or service.
The criteria for the Innovation in Business award is that the product or service must be able to lead a sustainable business, must have an excellent market potential for success and must be in the marketplace or a testing phase in which customers are implementing the product or using the service.
"It is an experiential marketing approach," Meyer said. "Our advertisers and exhibitors can give attendees a real idea of what they are all about."
Further information about the Wisconsin Business and Technology Expo is available by calling Sarah Wilson at (414) 277-8181, ext. 129, or visiting www.biztimes.com/expo.
October 1, 2004, Small Business Times, Milwaukee, WI
