7 Small Business Conferences You’ll Want to Attend

Where can you network with other small business owners, learn something new, market your business, and take a break from your normal, day-to-day routine? At a small business conference! There are conferences galore to choose from held all over the world, but for our money, these are some of the top ones that small business owners and entrepreneurs should consider attending.

Small Business Expo

Where/When: New York City, 5/16/13; Dallas, 6/20/13; Boston, 10/17/13; Los Angeles, 11/7/13; Miami, 1/16/14
Highlights: Small Business Expo is the biggest nationwide B2B trade show, conference, and networking event for small business owners. By registering before the online deadline you’ll get free access to the exhibitor hall, cyber lounge, speed-networking sessions, and keynote presentation. For an additional fee you get access to workshops, the Business Card Showcase, the networking after-party and mixer, and other goodies.

COSE Small Business Convention

Where/When: Sandusky, OH, Oct. 24-25, 2013
Highlights: The COSE Small Business Convention is the premier event for small business professionals in the Midwest. Workshops will cover a wide variety of topics, such as “Marketing for the Nontraditional Business,” “Creating a Positive Workplace Culture,” and “Website Optimization for Mobile Devices.” Attendees will also be treated to the COSE Business Pitch Competition and a keynote presentation by Boston Beer Company co-founder Rhonda Kallman.

Women’s Business Conference

Where/When: Miami, October 3-5, 2013
Highlights: Presented by the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO), the Women’s Business Conference provides female business owners with ideas, inspiration, and resources. Scheduled activities include a meet-and-greet, leadership training, and breakout sessions in 4 tracks (Business Basics, Steady Growing, Expert Entrepreneur, and International).

New York Business Expo & Conference

Where/When: New York City, October 24, 2013
Highlights: The New York Business Expo & Conference is the Northeast’s biggest event of its kind aimed at small business owners, executives, and entrepreneurs. In addition to the exhibit hall, it offers a variety of business seminars on topics such as technology, marketing, and social media, as well as the Cyber Café, a social media lab, and the Business Banking Center.

National Veterans Small Business Conference

Where/When: St. Louis, August 6-8, 2013
Highlights: The National Veterans Small Business Conference is the premier annual event for veterans to network, learn, and grow their businesses. There are over 400 training sessions focused on helping business owners expand and grow their companies, as well as opportunities to connect with potential clients, business partners, and procurement decisionmakers.

Small Business Summit

Where/When: New York City, August 6, 2013
Highlights: The Small Business Summit is New York’s premier event for small businesses, and features presentations and panels with small business experts from across the country. You’ll be able to network with other decisionmakers, attend informative seminars, and shop for products and services aimed at helping you manage and grow your business. For those not able to attend this year, the event will be streamed live.

America’s Small Business Summit

Where/When: Washington, DC, June 11-13, 2014
Highlights: America’s Small Business Summit is the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s annual event, and brings together small business owners, managers, and entrepreneurs looking to learn from and network with each other. There are typically a variety of well-known speakers and attendees present at the event, as well as opportunities to discuss legislative and policy issues of concern to small businesses with those in the public sector.

Attending a conference requires an investment of time and money, but the knowledge and contacts you’ll get out of it makes it well worth it. So get out your calendar and see if you can fit in one or two this year or next – chances are you’ll return to the office eager to put what you’ve learned into practice so that you can market and grow your business to new heights.