Small Business Conference in Denver September 14th -15th - Learn About Web

Anita Campbell introduced me to Craig Sutton and that lead to the honor of speaking at the Learn About Web - a small Business conference in Denver on September 14th and 15th 2009. Learn about Social media, web design, and search marketing to attract more customers to your Website and if you don't have one this is your chance to start.

Here is a coupon code for the Learn About Web conference CODE=@shashib  and this gives you $199 off and is valid till April 30th.

Hope you will register specially if you are in and around the Denver area.

This conference is very timely for Small Business folks looking for help in finding resources and guidance to get online and expand their reach. Network Solutions along with University of Maryland released a recent study " Small Business Success index" . here is a extract from the report

How can small businesses improve their competitiveness in the marketplace? Use the Internet.

Assuming that a venture capitalist is not going to suddenly appear and shore up most small businesses, a sound
investment a small business can make is in ramping up its Internet business solutions, or so it would seem based on the
experiences of those small businesses who have done it. This means more than just building a website, but making a
commitment to online advertising, allowing customers to view and order products online, providing email customer
service and self-service options to customers. It also involves improving internal communications by having a shared
network for employees to collaborate on projects and providing the means for them to communicate online with each
other.By doing these things, small businesses can improve their overall competitiveness grade, going from a low C to a
C+, and improve in one of the most important drivers of competitiveness, Marketing and Innovation. It affects the
bottom-line too. Small businesses that invest in Internet business solutions have a higher likelihood of meeting their
business goals. For example, small businesses with a commitment to Internet business solutions feel they are highly
successful in improving their profit margins 16% more often than small businesses that employ minimal Internet
business solutions.

On a similar note Steve King of Small Business labs wrote about the Small Business Trends for 2009 says

Small Businesses Will Expand Their Use of Online Marketing Tools: 

Despite the economic downturn, we expect the small business sector to increase its use of online marketing tools and methods in 2009.  Online marketing is cheaper and often more effective than traditional approaches.  And although online marketing can be complex, many tools and methods are accessible to DIY small business marketers. With small businesses focused on customer acquisition and re-defining their business methods, we expect their use of online marketing to grow in 2009.

I have never been to Denver and so that's another reason for me to be thrilled to be part of this conference.