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Success for Local eBusiness Expo

02/12/2005

The Technology and eBusiness Expo was at full capacity on Wednesday 30th November, with forward-thinking local entrepreneurs eager to expand their businesses online and take part in the East Midland Development Agency’s (emda’s) newest initiative. New start ups and established enterprises lined up shoulder to shoulder to learn from seasoned internet specialists on how to make the most of the dotcom boom.

Attendees at the Expo arrived at the East Midlands Conference Centre from all over the region, many having booked their places in advance on the event website. Places at the workshops and seminars, hosted by the likes of Microsoft, Google and BT, could also be reserved online; leaving few seats remaining on the day.

The sheer range of activities available meant that most concentrated on a few events rather than trying to attend everything, and for those not occupied listening to industry representatives there were opportunities for networking with exhibitors, building an eMarketing plan with a specialist or receiving expert evaluation of their company website.

Ann Stanley of Northampton-based Media Co was one of the exhibitors at the Expo and experienced visitors queuing up at her stand throughout the day. She said: “A lot the people I’ve seen today already have successful businesses but now want to know how they can achieve success online.

“One of the biggest issues they come across is their lack of knowledge. What I’ve been trying to do is start them off on the right foot, for example, by encouraging them to enrol in emda’s Web Academy. This will give them the right information to either get a website going or know how to brief a professional to do it for them.”

The keynote seminars for many were the centrepiece of the Expo and included talks from the brand manager for the UK’s first online newspaper, Telegraph.co.uk, the head of retail at Google and the sales director at Overture, an advertising subsidiary of the Yahoo group. Their seminar on the ‘eMarketing Evolution’ was an in depth discussion of online business promotion aimed at the audience of small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs).

The audience at the Expo had varying levels of eBusiness experience and so it was important that a support structure was in place to enable everyone to get the most out of the event. With independent experts on hand to give advice on everything from a new eBusiness plan to ‘personal shopping’, emda managed to cater for everyone and for those who needed to take some time away or touch base with the office, a café was organised onsite with a wireless internet connection.

Paul Humphreys, proprietor of Leicestershire based property company Keymove Homesearch, was impressed with the organisation of the event and the advice he received. He commented; “The Expo contained so many useful activities for small business people like myself, more than I would have expected.

“All of the talks I attended were aimed at exactly the right level for entrepreneurs in my position. As a result of a consultation session I attended on the day, I am now aware of the simple steps needed to make my company’s website easier to find and navigate, which will benefit my business enormously.”

The Web Academy mentioned by Ann Stanley at Media Co is just one of the resources offered by emda through its eBusiness Club. By logging on to www.ebusinessclub.biz businesses can get further support and those who were unable to attend the Expo can download presentations from the day.

The Expo, the largest of its kind to be held in the UK, was held as part of emda’s eBusiness Club initiative – funded under the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) Innovative Actions Programme. The initiative aims to increase the low levels of eAdoption within the region highlighted by a recent emda survey, helping local SMEs to discover the resources available to them. 
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For further information please contact Catherine Keep at Willoughby PR on 0115 924 7132/07791 027 070 or email catherinek@willoughby-pr.co.uk