DBEDT Co-Presents Small Business Fair at Leeward Community College
Posted on Mar 10, 2016 in #StartupParadise, DBEDT, Hawaii Small Business Fair, Leeward Community College, News
DBEDT continued its support of small business owners and entrepreneurs by co-presenting with Leeward Community College the semi-annual Hawaii Small Business Fair on Saturday, February 20, 2016.
The one-day event featured more than 29 workshops and over 35 exhibitors from federal, state and local agencies and non-profit organizations. These workshops and exhibits provide an opportunity for small business owners and future business owners to learn to start or grow or their business. Attendees enjoyed a wide range of workshop topics that includes Industry Insights modules focused on Tech Start-Ups, Manufacturing in Hawaii and Agriculture Start-Ups. Other courses include: Financing Options; Starting a Food Truck Business; Social Media Marketing; Federal Income Taxes; and Copyrights, Patents, and Trademarks. One-on-one business counseling was also be offered by SCORE Hawaii, a part of a national nonprofit association dedicated to entrepreneur education and the formation, growth and success of the nation’s small businesses.
In conjunction with other Organizing Committee members – Leeward Community College, Business Action Center, Small Business Development Center, Internal Revenue Service, Honolulu Community College, State Department of Transportation and SCORE – over 300 attendees were registered in a wide range of classes on business basics and one-on-one business counseling sessions. This year’s deeper content dives included Industry Insights into tech startups, manufacturing in Hawaii, as well as agricultural startups. During the breaks between classes, attendees were able to consult with and gather take-home information from various agencies and companies that support small business. The Secrets to Success speakers – Mel and Jasmine Tanioka from Tanioka’s Seafood & Catering and Tanna and Bryson Dang from Eden I Love – concluded the day by sharing their experiences and challenges in starting up, overcoming obstacles, milestones as small business owners, and making long-lasting connections with customers.
The Organizing Committee, including DBEDT achieved our objectives by attracting over 200 registered attendees and several walk-ins for each class, and distributed 300 evaluation forms that were all returned. We will examine the data that includes largely positive comments, but also suggestions to improve current classes, as well as a suggestion for a new class too: “How to deal with Yelp! and other social media reviews.”
View photos of the day in the Flickr album below:
