SOHO business show includes exhibitors, seminars to help small-business owners

SYRACUSE — It’s a chance for small-business owners and entrepreneurs to learn about available products, services, and resources in a one-day event featuring exhibitors and seminars. 

Premier Promotions is organizing the 17th SOHO Syracuse Small Business Show on Thursday, April 30, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Nicholas J. Pirro Convention Center at Oncenter. 

SOHO is short for small office/home office. 

The event seeks to help small businesses deal with the constant changes in the economy, says Steve Becker, owner of Premier Promotions, Inc., who has helped in producing all the previous 16 SOHO shows.

 “What we try to do with the show is give companies options for what’s out there to help [them],” says Becker, who spoke with CNYBJ on April 10.

The options could be products, services, or just information, he adds. 

The SOHO show aims to provide information on topics such as financial services and new programs. Several government agencies also plan to participate including the Onondaga County Division of Purchase; Empire State Development, New York’s primary economic-development agency; the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA); and the Small Business Development Center.

“We’re trying to bring people to the show [who] can be assisted, either in an existing business or [if] you want to start a business,” he says. 

Becker is anticipating more than 130 exhibitors at this year’s show and between 800 to 1,000 attendees. 

Chambers of commerce serving Liverpool, Cicero, Manlius, Cazenovia, and Plank Road (North Syracuse), as well as CenterState CEO, will participate, says Becker.

“They will also have some of their members as part of their [exhibitor] areas,” he adds. 

The SOHO Syracuse Small Business Show also includes four half-hour length, small-business presentations on topics that focus on raising digital visibility; Microsoft Windows 10 and business applications; organizations that help small businesses, such as a chamber of commerce; and a 60-minute panel of entrepreneurs who started or sustained a successful company. 

The presentations include Destiny USA’s Microsoft Store at 11:15 a.m. with a “Sneak Preview to Windows 10 and Business Applications.” The presentation provides a “peek” at what’s available at the Microsoft Store along with the latest operating system from Microsoft.

“Microsoft 10 is going to be released sometime in 2015. So, we’re going to have that … for people to understand some of the ins and outs of what to look forward to,” Becker says.

Later, at 12:15 p.m., area chambers of commerce, the Small Business Development Center, and the SBA present, “Three Organizations That Can Help Your Small Business.”

Attendees can find out how these organizations offer opportunities to network with other businesses, gain educational business insights, be an advocate for your small business.

“For the chamber, we’re going to have Liverpool … take the lead in that,” says Becker.

The presentations continue at 1:15 p.m. with “How to get your story into The Business Journal,” with advice on what CNYBJ looks for and reports about local businesses.

The final presentation at 2:15 p.m. is from a panel of entrepreneurs presenting an hour-long seminar called “Grand Slam Entrepreneurs — The Sequel.” The same presentation had a “standing-room only debut” in last year’s show, says Becker.

This year’s panelists are John Stage, owner of Dinosaur Bar-B-Que; Andy Picco, owner of Sustainable Office Solutions, LLC; Jessica Sloma, president of Ultimate Arrival, LLC; and Gwen Webber-McLeod, president and CEO of Gwen Inc., a leadership-development corporation.

“Each entrepreneur that’s on the panel will have a chance to tell their story,” says Becker.

Matt Mulcahy, anchor and reporter for CNY Central, will moderate the panel discussion.

Anyone attending any of the presentations can leave a business card for a chance to win a booth at the 2016 SOHO show free of charge. Booth space at the show costs about $600, Becker notes. 

The day will conclude with a Business After Hours Networking Reception between 4:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. featuring free hors d’oeuvres, a cash bar, prizes, and entertainment from the Maria DeSantis Trio, according to the show agenda.

“To me, SOHO … is really for people to connect [along with] networking, building new relationships, or seeing old friends,” says Becker. 

Complimentary tickets are available on the show’s website, but the cost at the door is $5 if people attend without a complimentary ticket, Becker says.

The advertising and marketing materials for the SOHO show include the likeness of Bernie Bregman, owner of BBB Marketing, Inc., smiling and giving two thumbs up. Those materials include a billboard ad, tickets, posters, and the Show Guide.

Bregman — who retired from the Business Journal News Network (BJNN) as a senior account manager at the end of 2013 but still provides marketing services to BJNN through his company — offers a few reasons why Becker tapped him to help market SOHO.

“Well, Steve and I are friends. In addition to that, I’ve been involved with trade shows of this kind for probably 20-some years…,” he says. “And a lot of people know me. So Steve decided, ‘Well, let’s use the face of Bernie Bregman.’ ”

Bregman says he received “lots” of feedback from people who saw him on last year’s SOHO Show billboard and tickets.

Becker and Norman Poltenson, the former publisher of CNYBJ, came up with the idea for the SOHO show in the fall of 1997 and organized the first one in April 1998. 

SOHO became an autumn event the following year, but has now shifted on the calendar to the spring.

The trade show took a one-year hiatus in 2012 to avoid conflicting with the CenterState CEO Business Showcase at the State Fairgrounds, an event that has since moved to the fall.       

SYRACUSE — It’s a chance for small-business owners and entrepreneurs to learn about available products, services, and resources in a one-day event featuring exhibitors and seminars. 

Premier Promotions is organizing the 17th SOHO Syracuse Small Business Show on Thursday, April 30, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Nicholas J. Pirro Convention Center at Oncenter. 

SOHO is short for small office/home office. 

The event seeks to help small businesses deal with the constant changes in the economy, says Steve Becker, owner of Premier Promotions, Inc., who has helped in producing all the previous 16 SOHO shows.

 “What we try to do with the show is give companies options for what’s out there to help [them],” says Becker, who spoke with CNYBJ on April 10.

The options could be products, services, or just information, he adds. 

The SOHO show aims to provide information on topics such as financial services and new programs. Several government agencies also plan to participate including the Onondaga County Division of Purchase; Empire State Development, New York’s primary economic-development agency; the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA); and the Small Business Development Center.

“We’re trying to bring people to the show [who] can be assisted, either in an existing business or [if] you want to start a business,” he says. 

Becker is anticipating more than 130 exhibitors at this year’s show and between 800 to 1,000 attendees. 

Chambers of commerce serving Liverpool, Cicero, Manlius, Cazenovia, and Plank Road (North Syracuse), as well as CenterState CEO, will participate, says Becker.

“They will also have some of their members as part of their [exhibitor] areas,” he adds. 

The SOHO Syracuse Small Business Show also includes four half-hour length, small-business presentations on topics that focus on raising digital visibility; Microsoft Windows 10 and business applications; organizations that help small businesses, such as a chamber of commerce; and a 60-minute panel of entrepreneurs who started or sustained a successful company. 

The presentations include Destiny USA’s Microsoft Store at 11:15 a.m. with a “Sneak Preview to Windows 10 and Business Applications.” The presentation provides a “peek” at what’s available at the Microsoft Store along with the latest operating system from Microsoft.

“Microsoft 10 is going to be released sometime in 2015. So, we’re going to have that … for people to understand some of the ins and outs of what to look forward to,” Becker says.

Later, at 12:15 p.m., area chambers of commerce, the Small Business Development Center, and the SBA present, “Three Organizations That Can Help Your Small Business.”

Attendees can find out how these organizations offer opportunities to network with other businesses, gain educational business insights, be an advocate for your small business.

“For the chamber, we’re going to have Liverpool … take the lead in that,” says Becker.

The presentations continue at 1:15 p.m. with “How to get your story into The Business Journal,” with advice on what CNYBJ looks for and reports about local businesses.

The final presentation at 2:15 p.m. is from a panel of entrepreneurs presenting an hour-long seminar called “Grand Slam Entrepreneurs — The Sequel.” The same presentation had a “standing-room only debut” in last year’s show, says Becker.

This year’s panelists are John Stage, owner of Dinosaur Bar-B-Que; Andy Picco, owner of Sustainable Office Solutions, LLC; Jessica Sloma, president of Ultimate Arrival, LLC; and Gwen Webber-McLeod, president and CEO of Gwen Inc., a leadership-development corporation.

“Each entrepreneur that’s on the panel will have a chance to tell their story,” says Becker.

Matt Mulcahy, anchor and reporter for CNY Central, will moderate the panel discussion.

Anyone attending any of the presentations can leave a business card for a chance to win a booth at the 2016 SOHO show free of charge. Booth space at the show costs about $600, Becker notes. 

The day will conclude with a Business After Hours Networking Reception between 4:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. featuring free hors d’oeuvres, a cash bar, prizes, and entertainment from the Maria DeSantis Trio, according to the show agenda.

“To me, SOHO … is really for people to connect [along with] networking, building new relationships, or seeing old friends,” says Becker. 

Complimentary tickets are available on the show’s website, but the cost at the door is $5 if people attend without a complimentary ticket, Becker says.

The advertising and marketing materials for the SOHO show include the likeness of Bernie Bregman, owner of BBB Marketing, Inc., smiling and giving two thumbs up. Those materials include a billboard ad, tickets, posters, and the Show Guide.

Bregman — who retired from the Business Journal News Network (BJNN) as a senior account manager at the end of 2013 but still provides marketing services to BJNN through his company — offers a few reasons why Becker tapped him to help market SOHO.

“Well, Steve and I are friends. In addition to that, I’ve been involved with trade shows of this kind for probably 20-some years…,” he says. “And a lot of people know me. So Steve decided, ‘Well, let’s use the face of Bernie Bregman.’ ”

Bregman says he received “lots” of feedback from people who saw him on last year’s SOHO Show billboard and tickets.

Becker and Norman Poltenson, the former publisher of CNYBJ, came up with the idea for the SOHO show in the fall of 1997 and organized the first one in April 1998. 

SOHO became an autumn event the following year, but has now shifted on the calendar to the spring.

The trade show took a one-year hiatus in 2012 to avoid conflicting with the CenterState CEO Business Showcase at the State Fairgrounds, an event that has since moved to the fall.