Superstars of Small Business – A Shining Success!

On May 18, 2010 our premiere Superstars of Small Business event was held in Long Beach, California for an audience of entrepreneurs. Guest “Superstar” speakers and instructors shared expert advice for overcoming obstacles and growing a business, making the day a huge success and setting the precedent as the first in a series of Superstar events.

Los Angeles, CA – The Making It! Institute for the Advancement of Business in partnership with the Los Angeles Regional Small Business Development Centers (SBDC) Network held the first Superstars of Small Business event on Tuesday, May 18 on the Long Beach City College Campus. The program was an intensive one-day learning format that brought together five entrepreneurs who built their businesses to gross $10M annually or more, with an audience of 75 eager small business owners and young entrepreneurs on scholarship. Adding to the day’s learning experience were three instructors, each specializing in specific areas of business expertise – sales & marketing, social media, and finance. The event was purposely sized for intimacy to offer attendees the opportunity to ask questions and to maximize the peer to peer learning benefits.

The idea for Superstars of Small Business was born from Nelson Davis’ belief that learning from the best is the best way to learn. As President of The Making It Institute and Executive Producer of over 500 episodes of the Making It! TV show, Nelson learned that highly accomplished business owners are happy to share their experiences with others who want to grow. Nelson says “it was exciting to see today’s business superstars helping to prepare the next generation of America’s small business owners, the true job generating engine in our country.”

Our presenting Superstar entrepreneurs were Karen Caplan, President of Frieda’s Inc, Janice Bryant Howroyd, President of The Act 1 Group, Frank Moran, President of Team One Staffing, and Helen and Marty Shih, founders of the Asian American Business Association. Combined, their businesses gross over $1.5 billion dollars per year! Each Superstar shared insightful wisdom with our audience. For starters, Karen Caplan’s secret of running a multi-million dollar business is to write down only three priorities to accomplish in order within a given day. She emphasized the importance of writing down concise, attainable goals as a way of staying focused. Frank Moran spoke of growing his business by simply seeking the networking potential in any given situation. He stressed the value of listening to the needs of others to learn of the niche opportunities that he could fill by offering his business services. Janice Bryant Howroyd, our energetic keynote speaker, grew her company from $400 million to $800 million and a global presence by incorporating more technology into her business. This doesn’t replace people, she noted, but allows for them to be more efficient. And Helen and Marty Shih rounded out the day by teaching us that change is inevitable and it is better to embrace it than run from it. Using this advice, they morphed their flower stand into a telemarketing company, and now into an association devoted to aiding Asian business owners in America.

Interspersed amongst these Superstar speakers were three instructors educating on the various topics pertinent to small business. John “Dr. Revenue” Haskell, a business consultant, welcomed the audience into the “Sales Emergency Room.” Kimberly Gros, an SBDC instructor and social media expert, explained how Facebook and Twitter can level the playing field and allow for small businesses to compete with much larger companies, and Ed Von Leffern, a Long Beach City College SBDC Business Adviser, gave them essential information for getting an SBA loan.

Our post-event attendance survey revealed that the nuggets of small business wisdom shared by our Superstar speakers and instructors were of extreme value. Attendees reported a high level of satisfaction with this premiere Superstars of Small Business event and a request for more one-day programs to help their business education. Also, results indicated that the average number of years in business for most of our attendees was approximately nine, with only a few members of our audience in the first year or two. A young entrepreneur named Josue Martinez is working to launch his company of energy snacks called Cookie Cartel. He responded by saying that “It was amazing to learn the specific details of each Superstar’s trials and errors. I was given powerful knowledge to take back and implement into my own business model, become successful, and hopefully one day be in a position to give back to my community.” Catherine Mullins, another attendee who owns Xiomara Professional Paralegal & Bookkeeping Services, commented that she “really enjoyed the tenacity of spirit that each of these speakers exhibited. I found each story inspirational and walked away filled with good knowledge and great ideas.”  The Making It! Institute is currently developing Superstars of Small Business into an event that can be staged in various venues throughout the country, consistently inviting the highest quality guest speakers to share business knowledge and expertise with various audiences.

Superstars of Small Business was made possible thanks to the generous support of Boeing Defense, Space & Security, the Port of Long Beach, BP America Inc, Comerica Bank, and American Honda, as well as our partnering organization, The Los Angeles Regional Small Business Development Center in Long Beach.

The Making It! Institute for the Advancement of Business (a 501-c3 non profit corporation) was founded by Nelson Davis, following 20 years of experience producing television’s most-lauded small business TV show, Making It! Minority Success Stories. The Making It! Institute’s mission is based on the paramount importance of encouraging the entrepreneurial spirit in diverse communities. Goals and outreach include live events, small business TV specials, and a MakingItInstitute.org Web site, dedicated to promoting economic empowerment.