Wednesday, September 11, 2013

Hutt Valley Business Expo 2013



The Hutt Valley Business Expo is something I look forward to each year. Every year the business expo is held at the horticultural hall. Businesses, charities, community organisations, medical organisations, even local councils and government organisations can run a stall where they promote their goods and services, make new networks, and inform people what is going or what is new in the business world and community. And there are plenty of business seminars. 

 For everyone who comes, there are opportunities to enter draws for prizes, make new contacts, networks, find the service they need, whether it’s for business, the home, travel or personal health, or get extra business training. Stallholders can range from accountants and legal experts to gyms and survival kits. This year I found Les Mills, Totally Pink (where you can stop for an espresso break from all the stalls), the Hutt City Council, and a new, upcoming outfit called the Hutt Valley Hub. It is going to be a hub for work-at-homers, sole traders, community workers, or anyone who wants to join.



This year had a new twist – you are given a passport for collecting stamps from each stall. At the end you put your passport into a draw for prizes. What sort of prizes? It depends on whether you collected under fifty stamps or over. Now, that is a great incentive to go around as many stalls as you can, and pause at some that you might otherwise pass over. And a few stalls had spin the wheel, throw the dart, or have a lucky dip for prizes – which means everyone who goes is guaranteed a prize of some sort. Which makes it all the more fun to go! But still take a big stack of your business cards because you will still need them for draws at every stall – and maybe make some new contacts.