Trade Shows 2013

Trade shows present a range of valuable opportunities for companies that participate, including meeting potential customers, finding new and better ways of doing business and building a more impressive reputation within an industry.

Trade Shows According to data from the Center for Exhibition Industry Research (CEIR), 88% of the attendees at a trade show usually haven’t been seen by a member of your company’s sales staff in the past year, and 70% plan to buy one or more products. On average, 76% of attendees ask for quotes and 26% end up signing purchase orders. Seventy-two percent of visitors say the show itself influences their buying decisions.

The positive impact of exhibiting at a trade show isn’t confined just to the event, as 87 percent of attendees will pass along some of the information they obtained at the show, and 64 percent will tell at least six other people about it. From a sales perspective, shows can also be highly cost-effective — it costs 22 percent less to contact a potential buyer at a show than through traditional field sales calls.

Below is a list of trade shows for consideration for 2013.

Trade Show Listing 2013

To see an extensive list of 2013 trade shows in a variety of industries, visit http://tradeshowcalendar.us

Incubator Tenants in the News

Sitka Salmon Shares, a tenant at the Sustainable Business Center’s business incubator, was featured in a December article of Forbes magazine. To read the article click here.

Gary Lay, owner of Solar Wind Alternative Power (SWAP), has installed new solar panels outside the incubator. For full details, see the local article.

BTC Academic Scholarships for Entrepreneurs

The Galesburg Business & Technology Center at Carl Sandburg College is again offering five $1,000 academic scholarships for students with a passion for entrepreneurship. For complete rules and details, see the flyer and application. Questions should be directed to Gena Alcorn at 309-341-5327 or galcorn@sandburg.edu

Small Business Day Nominations 2013 – NOW ONLINE!

The nomination form for this year’s Small Business Day in West Central Illinois is now online! If you know of an entrepreneurial small business or individual worthy of recognition  please see the link below.  Remember, you can even nominate yourself!

All nominations must be in by April 1, 2013. An independent judging panel will convene in late April and winners will be announced at the annual Small Business Day Event at Lake Storey Pavilion in Galesburg, Illinois on May 14, 2013.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/2013EagleAwardNomination

Introducing: BRED for Global Competitiveness

BRED is a new regional program for businesses to become globally competitive. The program consists of a network of professionals, programs, and services to help businesses increase sales, reduce costs, enhance productivity, and improve their overall competitive position in the marketplace. BRED for Global COMPETITIVENESS is about developing growth oriented businesses that aim to be the best and want to move their business progressively forward.

BRED, which stands for Business Retention, Expansion, and Development consists of the following goals that will improve the company’s overall competitive position in the market:

1) Adopting Best Practices – Identify and incorporate those practices that will prepare businesses to become more effective and productive in the area of marketing, operations, and finance. This is to be done for general business practices as well as for specific industries.

2) Transforming through Technology – Learn to conduct your “business in real-time” by leveraging web-based technology, growing your electronic foot-print, and utilizing cloud-based enterprise software

3) Pursuing New Markets – Find markets here and abroad for your existing products or services. Market research coupled with various marketing strategies may result in new market opportunities.

4) Innovating New Opportunities – Learn how to innovate in four areas of your business through innovative certification and training and establish new opportunities to pursue.

5) Overcoming Key Obstacles – Express key business concerns and inquire how they might be addressed through the local, state, or federal resources.

The BRED program will be delivered through a collaboration of regional business development service providers led by the EBI Network. While most businesses aim to be globally competitive, not all will need to, nor choose to sell abroad. The program is about being on a global “fitness-track” rather than being in “foreign-trade”.

To find out more about BRED for Global COMPETITIVENESS contact the EBI Network or the City of Galesburg’s Economic Development team:

Gary Camarano
EBI – Global Strategies Director
309/371-0473
gary.camarano@ebinetwork.org

Cesar Suarez
EBI – Director and City of Galesburg ED Director
309/345-3680
csuarez@ci.galesburg.il.us

PDF Version

Galesburg Trade Mission to Indonesia

Click to view the presentation.

Recently seven companies connected to the Galesburg/West Central Illinois Region traveled half way around the world – their purpose was to conduct a trade mission to uncover opportunities for exporting and importing, and foreign direct investment.

During the seven day mission the trade mission conducted 35 face-to-face matchmaking appointments, visited six government ministries and traveled to Borneo to meet with the Governor of East Kalimantan and several Indonesian companies involved in the region’s massive coal and rail infrastructure projects.

Indonesia is a rapidly growing global economy – the 17^th largest and growing at 6.5%, the world’s fourth largest population and third largest democracy and embodies a growing middle class. The country is eager to do business with the United States and trade missions like Galesburg’s are the first step in introducing eager buyers and sellers together. These partnerships can easily lead to increased trade and job growth in both countries. For an inside look at the 2012 Trade Mission Indonesia please view the city’s power point presentation at http://goo.gl/5Rz7Z

As part of Galesburg’s new BRED program more inbound and outbound trade missions are being planned. If you’re a business that would like to learn more about our trade missions and participate in our upcoming events please contact Gary Camarano, the EBI Network’s Global Strategies Director at gary.camarano@ebinetwork.org or call 309/371-0474.

Book of the Month: How to Go Global

Are you a small to medium-sized business looking to go global? Then How to Go Global by Patrick Steven Dine may be for you! The guide provides a great overview of steps to take as you expand your boundaries.

From researching the right markets to enter, to finding agents and distributors, this book will take you through the entire process. Topics such as hiring staff overseas, creating an entry strategy and establishing a global brand are all covered in excellent detail.