Business Fair Helps to Open Doors for Firms
Thousand Oaks business consultant Yvette Burke left the first Ventura County Business Opportunity Fair on Wednesday with an armload of brochures and a head full of ideas.
She was one of about 800 participants at the daylong event, designed to help small companies network with larger Ventura County corporations and government agencies.
“It has been very worthwhile,” said Burke, president of Adapt Consulting Inc., a Thousand Oaks firm that helps businesses become environment-friendly. “The companies that are here are making a lot of contacts.”
Contacts were the name of the game Wednesday, both for the participants and the exhibitors attending the business fair.
With about 75 booths spread out in the commercial building of the Ventura County Fairgrounds, small-business owners walked from booth to booth pitching their wares to various local companies and agencies.
Amgen Inc., 3M Corp., GTE California Inc. and Holiday Inn were among the dozens of larger Ventura County companies represented.
Exhibitors also included utility companies such as Southern California Gas Co., and government agencies such as the U.S. naval bases at Point Mugu and Port Hueneme, Ventura County, and the cities of Ventura and Oxnard.
At the booth for the Greater Oxnard and Harbors Tourism Bureau, a shell-shaped plate overflowed with business cards--the evidence of a successful five hours worth of networking.
“Being in tourism, I am always looking for that person who can market our area with their services,” said Carol Lavender, executive director of the bureau. “I think it’s important that we know what each other is doing.”
A senior buyer for the city of Ventura, Charles Mayper, said the fair provided an excellent opportunity for city purchasers to discover small businesses interested in becoming potential clients.
“We are always interested in new businesses, because new businesses bring new ideas,” he said.
The other benefit of such an event, Mayper said, is that it helps break down barriers between governments and small mom-and-pop companies.
“It’s an opportunity for a lot of people to see us and see if we can make a match,” he said. “A lot of times they see City Hall and maybe they don’t want to go there. They’re intimidated.”
Organizers of the business fair said that is precisely what the event was designed to accomplish.
“We are trying to take the mystery out of dealing with government and large corporations,” co-chair Sue Zilioto said.
For her part, Burke walked away from the commercial building with a stronger connection to the Ventura County business community than she had when she walked in. Adapt Consulting moved to Thousand Oaks just five weeks ago.
“The opportunity that I saw here was being able to do my Avon lady impression and go door-to-door to 75 agencies and companies,” Burke said. “It allows them to taste test you.”
