UF offers opportunities for small businesses to find customers, clients

March 18, 2010

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The 2010 Small Business Conference and Trade Fair will be held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday at the Hilton University of Florida Conference Center.

Sponsored by the University of Florida, the fair will provide the opportunity for small businesses to network with local, state and federal agencies, corporate entities and large businesses. Businesses will also be able to participate in workshops hosted by various resource partners and UF representatives.

Exhibitors will include various local, state agencies and resource partners, such as the Small Business Administration, Small Business Development Center, Service Core of Retired Executives and the General Services Administration. The State of Florida’s Office of Supplier Diversity will be on hand to provide assistance to companies seeking minority business certification. UF departments and academic units will meet one-on-one with vendors for 15 minutes to discuss potential opportunities and aspects of doing business with UF.

UF also plans to recognize participants in the university’s Construction Mentoring Program that paired large firms and small companies together in a mentoring program. Fourteen firms represented the inaugural class for 2009-2010. As part of the event, a construction networking forum will be held where the firms will have an opportunity to share the benefits realized through their participation. There will also be a discussion about potential upcoming opportunities to do business with UF in the next phase of the mentoring program.

Faylene Welcome, director of UF’s Small Business & Vendor Diversity Relations Division, said this is an important event because it gives small businesses the ability to network and communicate their ideas and services to public and private entities.

“UF is committed to doing business with small and minority businesses,” she said adding that the event invites public agencies and larger companies to connect with small, minority- and women-owned businesses.

Welcome said the event serves as an opportunity to market and share a wealth of information that otherwise might not be affordable to small businesses because smaller companies may not have the sizeable sales staff or resources to do extensive networking and marketing of their company’s services.

For more information, go to www.sbvdr.admin.ufl.edu or contact the Small Business & Vendor Diversity Relations Division at 352-392-0380. The event is open to the public and there is no charge to attend the workshops and trade fair.