Festival season set to launch for start-ups, with events held across NSW and VIC

Start-ups are being encouraged to make the most of the small business “festival season”, which kicks off next week and lasts for several months, with events held across NSW and Victoria.

Deciding which events to attend can seem overwhelming, so StartupSmart has a wrap-up of the main events taking place, and how they might apply to your start-up.

NAB National Small Business Summit

This Sydney-based summit is a two-day event held on July 26-27, presented by the Council of Small Business of Australia.

The summit is designed to address the issues concerning small business owners in the current economic climate, and comprises a broad range of interactive content including seminars, networking functions and a business-to-business expo.

The program aims to connect businesspeople with those who are focused on, and can influence, the future of small business, including politicians and representatives from local and Federal governments.

For the first time, this event will introduce the Virtual Delegate, enabling small business owners from anywhere in Australia to participate in the summit.

The Virtual Delegate will be able to watch the event as it unfolds, so you can sit at your desk and watch the action live as keynote speakers address the summit.

Victoria’s Small Business Festival

Presented by Business Victoria, the festival features hundreds of events providing ideas and information for anyone interested in starting, building or running a business.

Held throughout August, the festival theme is “Add One More Skill” and there is a focus on events that support the state’s retail sector.

Key events include:

The Regional Shopping and Destination Fair, featuring small retailers and tourism operators from regional Victoria.

Small Business Heroes Exhibition: The Retailers. This is a display of images and stories from small business owners who are taking an innovative or interesting approach to their retail business.

Social Media For Business: The Hands-On Workshop. Participants learn how to market their business using Facebook, Twitter, blogs and ePrint in an informal environment.

The Institute of Public Accountants will also host two events, one of which is titled “Innovate your Small Business with a Micro-Board”, which focuses on the small business revolution of micro-boards.

Small Business September

Now in its 12^th year, Small Business September is a NSW Government initiative, organised by NSW Trade and Investment.

As the name suggests, the program runs throughout September, featuring more than 300 events including workshops, seminars and exhibitions to help business owners manage and grow their businesses.

Participants will benefit from access to experts in a wide range of business categories including eCommerce, sales and marketing, human resources, financial planning and exporting.

This year’s theme asks participants to see their business from a new perspective, which involves stepping back from the everyday routine of working in their business to working on their business.

National Franchise Convention 2011

Hosted by the Franchise Council of Australia, the convention will be held in Victoria from October 9-11. The event is obviously aimed at those in the franchising industry.

While no details have been released for this year’s event, last year’s theme was “Seeking Knowledge, Gaining Wisdom”.

Keynote speakers included Small Business Minister Nick Sherry and Professor Lorelle Frazer,   director of the Asia-Pacific Centre for Franchising Excellence at Griffith University.