We at the Small Business Expo are thrilled to share with our community that we’ve achieved record growth for our shows in the first half of 2018. This is in large thanks to the communities we work with and the leaders and businesses our team has developed important relationships with. New York City, Philadelphia and Dallas were particularly kind to us – as we saw significant increases in both exhibitor and attendee registration in those cities. The continued momentum overall speaks to demand among the growing small business market for the insight and education provided during our events.
A key factor that really helped to drive attendee growth over the last year has been the caliber of sponsors and speakers lending their expertise to the visitors, including Google, HSBC, Powerteam International, United Healthcare, Constant Contact and Allstate. We are so appreciative of the support they have lent us as well as all our sponsors, and as a result, we are planning to build on momentum from 2018 with plans in 2019 to expand from 15 cities to 20 across the Nation (stay tuned for this exciting announcement!).
The Expo series was created ten years ago as a way to help reshape a downtrodden economy. Our intention has always been about providing valuable insights and tools to entrepreneurs and business professionals throughout every stage of building a business. The SBE team has worked tirelessly over the years to deliver sharp and progressive workshops and seminars for the small business community. We are so excited to see what the future brings for our amazing community and proud of the growth we’ve accomplished this year.
From residential construction firms to merchant wholesalers and from technical consulting services to custom software providers, small businesses continue to grow in the U.S. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, in 2016 there were more than 28.8 million small businesses in the United States, accounting for 99.7% of all of the country’s business – that number had since grown to approximately 30 million by early 2018. As business owners and entrepreneurs alike drive for continued success in 2018, we at Small Business Expo are happy to provide the education, resources and support on topics ranging from financial models to lead management to data security.
To drive further growth in the quarters ahead and shine light on the nations’ growing businesses, earlier this year we launched The Best of Small Business Awards® to honor business visionaries across multiple categories, including Small Business of the Year, Best Customer Service, Best SEO Company, CEO of the Year, Start-Up of the Year, Best Workplace, among many others. We encourage the community to get out there and nominate yourselves and your peers for the amazing work you are accomplishing to help build the economy!