Calling all small business owners! Do you love doing research to help you find services for your business? No, right? Wouldn’t it be great if there were over 40 small business service providers all in one place, so you could talk with many of them at once to address many of your business needs? What if that one place also included:

  • Educational workshops 
  • Appointments for one-on-one conversation with some specific providers (legal counsel, insurance, grant preparation, and more)
  • Translation for speakers of Spanish and Portuguese
  • A photographer taking headshots
  • Morning coffee and lunch

Now, what if ALL of that was 100% FREE to small business owners? 

Sounds too good to be true, right? Well, good news – it’s not! Join us May 21 at The Stationery Factory for the Berkshire Small Business Resource Expo to connect with service providers like lenders, insurance brokers, local technical assistance (read: help and coaching on specific topics) providers, and state agencies, attend educational workshops with translation as required, learn from 1:1 conversations with pros, get a professional headshot, and enjoy a free lunch!  

It’ll be a packed day, so here are some tips to make sure you can take advantage of all of the resources available at the Expo!

Attend A Pre-event Workshop

This article is great, but you can’t ask a blog post questions. If you have questions about the Expo, a concern about how to use your 1:1 consultation time, or just want to make sure you’re prepared, we’ll have three live Zoom workshops prior to the expo to help! Find the :

Know Your Needs

What do you hope to get out of the Expo? Spend a few minutes documenting your business needs. Do you want to shop your insurance policies to see if you could be improving your coverage or saving money? Do you need to open a business banking account? Seeking capital to start or expand? Do you have a legal question related to your IP? Looking for a good bookkeeper? All of the above (hey, we don’t judge!)? Knowing what you want is a great first step to getting it!

What To Bring

What to bring to the Expo largely depends on what you hope to get out of it! If you’re looking to shop your insurance policy, bringing the declarations page of your current policy could help an insurance agency tell what your business needs to insure and tell at a glance whether they can help improve your coverage or decrease your costs. If you have a business plan but want to tighten it up in a one-on-one conversation with an expert, bring the plan with you! Trying to navigate grant funding? Bring your grant research and/or information about the programs or products you’re trying to find funding for! There will be a lot of experts at the Expo – bringing the right documentation will help them to help you!

A group of people talk and interact at the Small Business Resource Expo

Schedule On-Site Consultations

Speaking of those experts – put their experience to work for your business! We’ll have 20-minute slots available all day with experts across a variety of areas, including legal counsel, insurance, grant preparation, and energy audits. When registering for the Expo, you’ll have an opportunity to indicate that you are interested in free one-on-one consultations. If you are, we’ll reach out closer to the Expo with a list of experts who will be available to help. 20-minute consultation slots will be available on a first-come, first-served basis, so don’t wait to schedule yours!

Get Ready for a Closeup

Similarly, Dan Morgan of Dan Morgan Photography will be on site offering FREE professional headshots! Like the expert consultations, headshot slots will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. Whether you’re in need of your first professional headshot or you need to refresh yours, dress professionally and bring your biggest smile to let Dan help you look your best! These opportunities will likely be popular, so don’t hesitate to book yours! 

Plan To Stay A While

As you can see, the Expo will be a packed day! Doors will open at 9am and we’ll wrap up at 3pm. It’s a long day because we know that entrepreneurs are busy – whether you’re full-time in your business or you’re still working a primary job as you work on building your business from side hustle into full time, the day is designed with flexibility in mind. If you can’t stay all day, just drop in for a walk around the Expo floor and some casual conversation with resource providers or a one-on-one consultation. The Expo is designed with small businesses in mind, and we encourage you to attend according to your needs. Because it’s a long day, we’re happy to provide sustenance to keep you going – we’ll have coffee in the morning and lunch in the early afternoon. Again, all of this is 100% FREE to small business owners!

Next Steps

So, are you sold on the Expo? All that’s left for you to do is sign up to attend, which you can do here:

We look forward to seeing you for another exciting Berkshire Small Business Resource Expo on May 21! Keep an eye on our social media or sign up for 1Berkshire e-communications to stay up to date on details as the Expo nears, and feel free to reach out to economicdev@1berkshire.com with any questions. We look forward to seeing you at the Expo!