Small Business Expo Relies on Zoho One for Its Expansion

No matter where you live in the US, The Small Business Expo is coming to a city near you. As a small business owner, you’d be wise to attend. 

The Small Business Expo is the largest business-to-business trade show, conference and networking event for small businesses in the country.

The Small Business Expo is tailored to small business owners, entrepreneurs and start-ups. You can attend workshops and seminars led by industry experts and shop from leading vendors.

Or, you’ll have the opportunity to promote your business-to-business products and services with face-to-face contact with decision makers.

What The Small Business Expo Does

The Small Business Expo presents shows in 20 different cities which are major small business hubs. In 2022, The Small Business Expo will add Charlotte, Cleveland, Denver, Pittsburgh and Tampa to its lineup. 

Business Niche

Zachary Lezberg, founder and owner of Small Business Expo, said the company’s niche is its focus on small businesses, entrepreneurs and startups. Many of the small businesses that attend The Small Business Expo have 50 or fewer employees.

How It Started

Lezberg was recently employed working for a production company for Broadway Shows. After four years, Lezberg left the broadway company to start his own business which hosted the first ever ShowBiz Expo.

Under his guidance, the company held a show business expo annually, as an aid to networking in the industry.

Lezberg’s interests were always rooted in small businesses – their development and road to success. He left the bright lights of Broadway to focus on helping small businesses grow, launching The Small Business Expo.

Biggest Win

Lezberg struggled with various CRM software challenges as he grew his business. “It was difficult to try to unite various programs,” he said.

“When I started, I was young and learning how to run a business,” he said. “After many years working with various – and expensive – CRMs I made the switch to Zoho One.

“Zoho One incorporates everything I need into one platform,” Lezberg said. “Everything you could need as a small business owner is all connected.”

As many small business owners do, Lezberg wears many hats. Some days, he said, it seems that he’s got at least 30 different hats!

He compared that to Zoho One. No matter how many “different hats” a small business owner is wearing – accountant, marketer, lead follower, scheduler, buyer and more – Zoho One has business owners covered.

“It’s very convenient and what you can do is not limited,” he said. “Also, you can pick and choose what you want from Zoho One because the platform is very flexible.”

“Previously, I had to hire a company to help me set up a CRM,” he added. “With Zoho, it’s easy to learn and use, and their support is super quick.”

Lezberg also uses Zoho Expense, Zoho Campaigns and Zoho Social.

Biggest Challenge

As with many small businesses, Lezberg faced his biggest challenge during the pandemic.

“At the start of the pandemic, we had all the shows scheduled beginning in March,” he said. “I had to make the decision – and it was a hard one – to quickly pivot from live to virtual shows.”

“A decision had to be made and I made it early,” he added. “I was able to convert customers and keep the shows going.”

And yet the huge challenge of the pandemic led to a true bonus to business owners on The Small Business Expo website. Within the website is The Small Business University, bolstered with content during the pandemic.

The Small Business University includes more than 1,000 workshops. The wealth and scope of information there is of great value to all small business owners. And, it’s free.

Lesson Learned

Don’t be complacent. Lezberg said he waited too long to make the switch to Zoho One.

He didn’t wait when the pandemic began to take disastrous effect on small businesses, and was instead ready and able to pivot from live to virtual shows and keep his company running.

Future Plans

In 2022, The Small Business Expo is adding five cities: Charlotte, Tampa, Denver, Cleveland and Pittsburgh.

The Small Business Expo will also do quarterly, national expos, and continue to grow the online Small Business University.  Lezberg said the annual Best of Small Business Awards program (you can view past winners on the website) will continue.

“COVID-19 put us a year behind,” Lezberg said. “But we’re back on track and the people who are coming to the shows are valuing the experience.”

This article, "Small Business Expo Relies on Zoho One for Its Expansion" was first published on Small Business Trends

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By: Lisa Price
Title: Small Business Expo Relies on Zoho One for Its Expansion
Sourced From: feedproxy.google.com/~r/SmallBusinessTrends/~3/4sgy1WblTvk/zoho-one-small-business-expo.html
Published Date: Wed, 20 Oct 2021 16:00:19 +0000

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