New energy for Expo
Northwest Business Expo comes of age in its 21st year

By Kate Nichols

The 21st Northwest Business Expo promises better networking possibilities than ever. “A couple of major changes this year will create better networking opportunities,” said Donja Walker, event coordinator for Northwest Business Monthly.
One of the biggest changes is rearranging the room layout to give attendees a clear view of all the booths. There won’t be a bad booth in the room. The other big change this year is that servers will circulate with trays of hors d’oeuvres instead of setting up one table, which resulted in long lines in years’ past. The food will start at 5 p.m. and last until closing. This will allow vendors to stay in their booths and talk to attendees and participants can keep moving around the booths.
Last year more than 700 attendees visited 50 booths at the Expo. Jason Hetrick of Silver Reef Hotel, Casino & Spa said, “This is the largest business-to-business event in the community. It is important to grow businesses in the area. This is an opportunity to get your message in front of a lot of businesses at one time.” Hetrick believes in the value of the event enough to be a Gold Sponsor. Countrywide Home Loans and Valley Cabinets & More are also Gold Sponsors.
Former exhibitors rave about the value of the Expo. “The Expo is an excellent marketing and public relations opportunity because of the visibility that it offers,” said Peter Cutbill, of Whidbey Island Bank, who has been involved with the Expo for several years.
He recommends participants use the Expo as an opportunity to talk to businesses. He advised attendees, “Don’t be shy, if you have a business question, we want to answer it. We will have two or three people at the booth to help solve business problems.”
As a long-term Expo planner, Bob Haggedorn of Snapper Shuler Kenner Insurance, has seen how businesses make the event successful for their businesses. “The results of the Expo for a business reflect how they work (during the Expo),” he said. Successful businesses are outgoing.
“I stand in front of the table and engage everyone that goes by. I offer a drawing so people step up to my booth and I can talk to them. Because I sell insurance, everyone’s a potential client so it’s important to reach out to as many people as possible. I get enough leads before noon to pay for cost of my booth.”
“I worked at putting on the Expo for eight years for the Business Pulse (now Northwest Business Monthly) and now I’ve been an exhibitor for four years. I feel passionate about it.”
“My key advice to vendors is don’t try and make sales at the show, get good leads and prospects,” Haggedorn said. “Find out the level of interest and spend the time with them after the show.”
This year several prizes will be awarded to attendees. Silver Reef Hotel, Casino and Spa is giving away two deluxe packages prefect for couples. The prize includes a night in a Diamond Executive Suite, a steakhouse dinner for two and, to round off the evening, a couples’ massage. Allegiant Air will give away two roundtrip tickets to Las Vegas. The grand prize is two roundtrip tickets to Mesa, Ariz., plus a three-night stay at a three-star hotel.
The 10th annual Whatcom Business Conference (formerly the Small Business Conference) co-sponsored by Western Washington University’s College of Business and Economic’s Small Business Development Center and Whatcom Community College will take place in conjunction with the Expo. Debbye Omlie from SBDC explained the conference updates. This year 12 seminars will be held during the all-day event. Seminars will be interactive and focus on current business issues. The content of the seminar is based on suggestions from last year’s evaluations so they will be relevant for current businesses’ needs. The environment will be experiential learning rather than lectures. In one room they will have Wi-Fi setup so participants can use their laptops for practice during classes.
“We have surprises planned. All and all it will be a new experience for Whatcom County,” adds Omlie. The seminars are a bargain at one low fee of $150 for the day.
The Expo culminates with the Bellingham/Whatcom Chamber of Commerce’s “Business After Business” networking event from 5-7 p.m. It’s traditionally the best-attended Business After Business event of the year.
Join us for this major networking event of Whatcom County businesses. It’s the best chance during the year for the biggest exposure.”