Last month’s BizTechDay (BTD) 2009 came and went but the dream team behind the business-technology entrepreneurial conference is not sitting on its laurels taking a breather. They’re already ramping up for next year’s event – a great idea while it’s still fresh in everyone’s mind. I attended the entire two days but felt like I had only scratched the service of their offerings. “Offerings” sounds like what someone is passes out like free samples or goodies. But that’s what it felt like.
For two days they offered a chock full of accessible workshops and forums and I wanted to attend 90% of them but couldn’t. Well, I was kind of tied to the Inquirer.net booth, the online publishing company that I freelance my writing and project marketing services to. I had a full plate of four objectives which make it quite a challenge to keep track of the days’ events:
Set up the booth and pitch Inquirer’s services, interview people for Inquirer.net story and for this blog, shoot video and photographs, network on behalf of Inquirer.net and myself (Freelance Writer/Project Marketing). Wrote and blogged. Next, edit and post my video and photos. Editing is a chore for me especially since I don’t have (can’t afford) Final Cut Pro ($$$)...yet. I prefer writing, interviewing and shooting video over editing but boy do I digress!
Basically I missed out on interviewing some key speakers such as Tim Ferris (4Hour Work Week Author) and Justin Chan (JustinTV). They’re still on my hit list, so I’m sure to find them at future events.
I interviewed and met so many interesting entrepreneurs that only a handful made it on my Inquirer.net story - BizTechDay: Entrepreneurship, Optimism, Filipino Talent . I got some great quotes, impressive backgrounds, a diverse pool of talented, passionate and good people. Yes good people. So heeeeeeere ( “Here’s Johnny” ) they are! They’re listed in the random order that I saw (torpedoed) and grabbed them: Trademarkia, Lift Your Spirits and Elite Leads Business Development.
Bryan Zing - Trademarkia . Exhibitor at BTD.
(I visited Trademarkia’s booth and ended my interview so quickly only because people began to hover around his table for information. I sure don’t want to cost him potential clients!)
Bryan: We are an online trademark search and we allow consumers to file trademarks online through our service.
Me:What makes your service different from the competition?
Bryan: Our closest competition is LegalZoom. We are different because they charge for their search feature and our search feature is free.
Me: You mentioned you were at TechCrunch50 in San Francisco, another tech conference, and had a good response?
Bryan: Yes.
Me: This is your first time at BizTech?
Bryan: This is our first time BizTech. We actually launched three weeks ago at TechCrunch 50.
Me: What kind of reaction are you getting here compared to TechCrunch50?
Bryan: The reaction here seems to be more positive since we’ve been around now and more people are noticing our site.
Me: You mentioned you had a recent visitor who was interested in your service?
Bryan: I told one woman about our feature. She owns a small business was looking to trademark her name. She wasn’t sure if she should go to a trademark attorney or not. I told her about our site and since it’s so much cheaper, she decided to go with us.
Me: So you’re getting busy, you’re getting responses. Are you going to be here next year?
Bryan: Yeah definitely.
Me: Have you attended any workshops yet?
Bryan: I want to attend the app (application) workshop.
Jennifer Duchene - Lift your Spirits, Home Transformations
(Jennifer was on her way home for some much needed rest. She came to BTD early and packed the entire day attending workshops with little sleep.)
Jennifer: I’m a one day homemaker specialist. I come to your home and use what you have already and I make space work for you. (I help you with) your style and what you need to function with how you live within your budget. It’s my savvy because I have the talent to bring it together.
Me: What’s your background?
Jennifer: I studied interior design at University of California, Los Angeles. Been doing this for the last six years and I’ve worked in the corporate world.
Me: Why and how did you make this transition? Did you see a need for it and how did you make that move?
Jennifer: I saw people are confused by either on what to buy or what to do after they buy it. You have your furniture and stuff and then it accumulates. Then you don’t know what to do. Then you buy new drapes thinking it’s going to fix it. But it doesn’t.
It’s not what you have but you how you place it. (You can also) save money and it’s green because you’re not throwing things out. Helps with clutter because what happens (is) when we come in and move stuff around, you realize this is stuff you don’t need and you feel it’s easy to get rid of it.
Me: Why are you here? What attracted you to BTD?
Jennifer: I want to network and meet new people. I want to find the cutting edge technology to help my clients and my business.
Me: Which workshops have you attended so far?
Jennifer: Finding your Niche (online) with LGBT and Women (Community). How (sic) people buy, that women are 51% of the buyers. They’re a huge group of people. The LGBT group is also niche based and very loyal to their brand, and how to connect with them. How to Approach Corporations to Fund Your Business Venture or Non-Profit? And How to Get Publicity? That was great too.
Me: What advice would you give to aspiring entrepreneurs? Explain in 30 seconds your top five tips?
Jennifer:
1. Ask yourself: Who are you? What’s your brand? How do you differentiate yourself?
2. Have a plan. Set up your tools or business plan. What is your goal?
3. Make sure you can live and survive. It takes a while for the business to get off the ground.
4. Network, network, network. Show up and get to know people.
5. Go out there and figure out what you can do for your customer because that translates into relationships and people come back. That’s the key to your business, not what they can do for you.
Me: Will you be here tomorrow?
Jennifer: I hope to be!
Me: If you wake up?
Jennifer: (Laughs)
Sharyn Abbott - Elite Leads Business Development
Sharyn: I’m really excited about the people that I’ve met. Had a couple of questions answered with some challenges that I had and that was wonderful. I sat in a couple of presentations that gave me some answers about a non-profit that I’m starting. What a great resource to come to one place and get all these challenges dealt with.
Me: There’s a lot of networking events in the Bay Area - conferences and workshops. What makes this event different?
Sharyn: As a business owner and working with so many entrepreneurs, I face a lot of problems that most people don’t have to even think about.
Me: Such as?
Sharyn: Like converting websites into WordPress for their blogs. That was one of the major challenges. I realized that WordPress has more power than a website. I’m getting my authors to convert into WordPress to get higher rankings. There’s simple ways to do that. They (WordPress) have a website with more than 1000 video how-to’s. Now I don’t have to be the expert. I can direct them to that site. That’s a huge resource for me.
(My Note: WordPress is a blogging platform and BTD sponsor/exhibitor. Founder Matt Mullenweg was a panelist on How to Raise $100,000 to 3 Million for Your Business forum.)
Me: Have you been able to network or find potential partners?
Sharyn: One of the first people I met was at 9am this morning. (He) looks like he’s going to be a new client who’s writing a book. He’s having a terrible time finding a publisher and I’m really glad because if he found a publisher, he’d be lucky to get .50 a book. I’ll show him how to get 75% of the sales price as his profit.
Me: Which other workshops have you attended?
Sharyn: How to Do Virtual Fundraising? How to Get Teams Built for a Nonprofit? I want to attend the How to Build Your Online Community from Zero to Millions?
Me: Anything else?
Sharyn: Not yet. I’ve been too busy talking! (Laughs)
Me: That’s a good thing. You talk to a lot of entrepreneurs, some who may be sitting on the fence, worried about the economy. What do you tell them?
Sharyn: 90% of all of my clients meet or exceed their business plan every year regardless of what’s going on in economy. I teach a program called Seven Techniques to Thrive in Any Economy. When anybody does all seven, the business just flows naturally. I’ve already had 10 of my clients meet their business plan in August.
Me: What’s your 30 seconds of advice to people who are just starting out?
Sharyn: If you hang out with people who are successful, it’s a lot more fun to be successful. It’s easier to find success the closer you are to people who are making it happen.
Great parting note! Now, are you making it happen? Come back for the video and photos!
For two days they offered a chock full of accessible workshops and forums and I wanted to attend 90% of them but couldn’t. Well, I was kind of tied to the Inquirer.net booth, the online publishing company that I freelance my writing and project marketing services to. I had a full plate of four objectives which make it quite a challenge to keep track of the days’ events:
Set up the booth and pitch Inquirer’s services, interview people for Inquirer.net story and for this blog, shoot video and photographs, network on behalf of Inquirer.net and myself (Freelance Writer/Project Marketing). Wrote and blogged. Next, edit and post my video and photos. Editing is a chore for me especially since I don’t have (can’t afford) Final Cut Pro ($$$)...yet. I prefer writing, interviewing and shooting video over editing but boy do I digress!
Basically I missed out on interviewing some key speakers such as Tim Ferris (4Hour Work Week Author) and Justin Chan (JustinTV). They’re still on my hit list, so I’m sure to find them at future events.
I interviewed and met so many interesting entrepreneurs that only a handful made it on my Inquirer.net story - BizTechDay: Entrepreneurship, Optimism, Filipino Talent . I got some great quotes, impressive backgrounds, a diverse pool of talented, passionate and good people. Yes good people. So heeeeeeere ( “Here’s Johnny
Bryan Zing - Trademarkia . Exhibitor at BTD.
(I visited Trademarkia’s booth and ended my interview so quickly only because people began to hover around his table for information. I sure don’t want to cost him potential clients!)
Bryan: We are an online trademark search and we allow consumers to file trademarks online through our service.
Me:What makes your service different from the competition?
Bryan: Our closest competition is LegalZoom. We are different because they charge for their search feature and our search feature is free.
Me: You mentioned you were at TechCrunch50 in San Francisco, another tech conference, and had a good response?
Bryan: Yes.
Me: This is your first time at BizTech?
Bryan: This is our first time BizTech. We actually launched three weeks ago at TechCrunch 50.
Me: What kind of reaction are you getting here compared to TechCrunch50?
Bryan: The reaction here seems to be more positive since we’ve been around now and more people are noticing our site.
Me: You mentioned you had a recent visitor who was interested in your service?
Bryan: I told one woman about our feature. She owns a small business was looking to trademark her name. She wasn’t sure if she should go to a trademark attorney or not. I told her about our site and since it’s so much cheaper, she decided to go with us.
Me: So you’re getting busy, you’re getting responses. Are you going to be here next year?
Bryan: Yeah definitely.
Me: Have you attended any workshops yet?
Bryan: I want to attend the app (application) workshop.
Jennifer Duchene - Lift your Spirits, Home Transformations
(Jennifer was on her way home for some much needed rest. She came to BTD early and packed the entire day attending workshops with little sleep.)
Jennifer: I’m a one day homemaker specialist. I come to your home and use what you have already and I make space work for you. (I help you with) your style and what you need to function with how you live within your budget. It’s my savvy because I have the talent to bring it together.
Me: What’s your background?
Jennifer: I studied interior design at University of California, Los Angeles. Been doing this for the last six years and I’ve worked in the corporate world.
Me: Why and how did you make this transition? Did you see a need for it and how did you make that move?
Jennifer: I saw people are confused by either on what to buy or what to do after they buy it. You have your furniture and stuff and then it accumulates. Then you don’t know what to do. Then you buy new drapes thinking it’s going to fix it. But it doesn’t.
It’s not what you have but you how you place it. (You can also) save money and it’s green because you’re not throwing things out. Helps with clutter because what happens (is) when we come in and move stuff around, you realize this is stuff you don’t need and you feel it’s easy to get rid of it.
Me: Why are you here? What attracted you to BTD?
Jennifer: I want to network and meet new people. I want to find the cutting edge technology to help my clients and my business.
Me: Which workshops have you attended so far?
Jennifer: Finding your Niche (online) with LGBT and Women (Community). How (sic) people buy, that women are 51% of the buyers. They’re a huge group of people. The LGBT group is also niche based and very loyal to their brand, and how to connect with them. How to Approach Corporations to Fund Your Business Venture or Non-Profit? And How to Get Publicity? That was great too.
Me: What advice would you give to aspiring entrepreneurs? Explain in 30 seconds your top five tips?
Jennifer:
1. Ask yourself: Who are you? What’s your brand? How do you differentiate yourself?
2. Have a plan. Set up your tools or business plan. What is your goal?
3. Make sure you can live and survive. It takes a while for the business to get off the ground.
4. Network, network, network. Show up and get to know people.
5. Go out there and figure out what you can do for your customer because that translates into relationships and people come back. That’s the key to your business, not what they can do for you.
Me: Will you be here tomorrow?
Jennifer: I hope to be!
Me: If you wake up?
Jennifer: (Laughs)
Sharyn Abbott - Elite Leads Business Development
Sharyn: I’m really excited about the people that I’ve met. Had a couple of questions answered with some challenges that I had and that was wonderful. I sat in a couple of presentations that gave me some answers about a non-profit that I’m starting. What a great resource to come to one place and get all these challenges dealt with.
Me: There’s a lot of networking events in the Bay Area - conferences and workshops. What makes this event different?
Sharyn: As a business owner and working with so many entrepreneurs, I face a lot of problems that most people don’t have to even think about.
Me: Such as?
Sharyn: Like converting websites into WordPress for their blogs. That was one of the major challenges. I realized that WordPress has more power than a website. I’m getting my authors to convert into WordPress to get higher rankings. There’s simple ways to do that. They (WordPress) have a website with more than 1000 video how-to’s. Now I don’t have to be the expert. I can direct them to that site. That’s a huge resource for me.
(My Note: WordPress is a blogging platform and BTD sponsor/exhibitor. Founder Matt Mullenweg was a panelist on How to Raise $100,000 to 3 Million for Your Business forum.)
Me: Have you been able to network or find potential partners?
Sharyn: One of the first people I met was at 9am this morning. (He) looks like he’s going to be a new client who’s writing a book. He’s having a terrible time finding a publisher and I’m really glad because if he found a publisher, he’d be lucky to get .50 a book. I’ll show him how to get 75% of the sales price as his profit.
Me: Which other workshops have you attended?
Sharyn: How to Do Virtual Fundraising? How to Get Teams Built for a Nonprofit? I want to attend the How to Build Your Online Community from Zero to Millions?
Me: Anything else?
Sharyn: Not yet. I’ve been too busy talking! (Laughs)
Me: That’s a good thing. You talk to a lot of entrepreneurs, some who may be sitting on the fence, worried about the economy. What do you tell them?
Sharyn: 90% of all of my clients meet or exceed their business plan every year regardless of what’s going on in economy. I teach a program called Seven Techniques to Thrive in Any Economy. When anybody does all seven, the business just flows naturally. I’ve already had 10 of my clients meet their business plan in August.
Me: What’s your 30 seconds of advice to people who are just starting out?
Sharyn: If you hang out with people who are successful, it’s a lot more fun to be successful. It’s easier to find success the closer you are to people who are making it happen.
Great parting note! Now, are you making it happen? Come back for the video and photos!
Comments
This was a nice surprise. I enjoyed the different takes and thanks for doing my interview and posting.
and for making me laugh!
Jen Duchene
LYShome.com
I enjoyed talking to you and I enjoyed reading your post - you give a great cross-section of Bay Area Entrepreneurs!
Jennifer Duchene
Lift Your Spirit Home Transformations
home-decorating-makeovers.com/
Thank you! Was indeed a pleasure to meet you and learn about your niche enterprise. I'm glad my booth was your last stop of your long day, yet you still had the energy to give an engaging interview. Your responses were insightful!