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by Stephen Parezo

Manning the Fiducial booth at the Women's Business Center of California’s Second Annual Small Business Services Expo in San Diego were account executive Debi Kay Key and senior business advisor Gene Polley.

September 4, 2006—What a difference a year makes. Just ask senior business advisor Gene Polley about Fiducial’s participation in the Women's Business Center of California’s Small Business Services Expo held last week at the Town and Country Resort and Convention Center in San Diego.

“The second annual event was a huge difference,” said Polley who manned the Fiducial booth along with account executive Debi Kay Key. “It’s more than twice as big as the year before.”

Through his role as a member of the Center’s advisory board, Polley knew the chances were pretty good that there would be plenty of opportunities to meet potential clients at the expo since it featured keynote speaker Kendra Todd who became the first woman to win Donald Trump’s “Apprentice” television show in season three.

According to Polley, just the buzz surrounding Todd’s appearance was enough to generate strong interest from women business owners and those women aspiring to become entrepreneurs.

“There were a number of people who wanted to hear Todd who is also a successful real estate salesperson,” he said. “It was a good-sized crowd.”

Attendance was estimated at over 500 which was a substantial increase from 2005.

Fiducial also enjoyed high visibility at the expo due to the location of its booth which was no accident.

“We had the number one booth in the expo because we were the first booth inside the door,” he said. “It turns out that they didn’t do assigned spots and I got there when it first opened and they said it’s open seating.”

Changing social trends

This year, Polley simplified the graphics for the booth which featured a drawing offering huge discounts on candles, scented bath salts and soaps from Cathedral, one of his clients. The contest drew 75 entrants.

Fiducial representatives were busy handing out business cards as they spoke with women business owners. Those stopping by the Fiducial booth also received some giveaway items such as emery boards and rulers.

Polley picked up one hot lead from the event that is actively looking for a new accounting relationship. He also got two leads for his Business Network International breakfast club that had seven booths at the show. In addition, he lined up a pair of speaking engagements with those he met at the expo and had another 10 people asking to be added to his monthly newsletter.

Thanks to the efforts of Key and Polley, they never had to go looking for prospects to talk to.

“We were approached by people all day long,” he said. “A year ago, I felt I had to track people down.”

Throughout the expo it was clear that the ranks of female entrepreneurs have been growing faster than their male counterparts.

“We heard the statistics from the Small Business Administration and it’s part of the changing social trends in the country,” Polley said. “Women feel open to owning their own business because there’s no glass ceiling for a small business owner.”

Stephen Parezo is the Media Manager for Fiducial.

Whatever your small business needs, your Fiducial tax and financial professional can analyze your situation and recommend an appropriate action plan. To locate a Fiducial office nearest you on fiducial.com, see the Zip Code Locator located in the upper right hand corner of the page. Do you have a particular topic that we should be writing about that can help your business? Please send your suggestions to: stephen.parezo@fiducial.com.

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