Metro-east to host first business expo next month

Local business owners and professionals now have a business expo to call their own.

St. Louis Small Business Monthly and the Midwest Business Institute have partnered to create the Southwestern Illinois Business Expo. The first of what is expected to become a regularly scheduled event will be held Aug. 12 in Collinsville.

The Edwardsville-based business consultation firm and the monthly business magazine have been working to create the event to provide metro-east area companies with a regularly scheduled event and venue for networking and driving more business.

Ron Ameln, who is the president of the St. Charles, Mo.-based magazine, helped launch the St. Louis Business Expo a decade ago. The bi-annual event has since relocated to the St. Charles Convention Center in St. Charles County, where it has attracted about 200 businesses per event. It is the model for the new metro-east expo.

“The idea was to get businesses together so they can promote their products and services, business to business,” Ameln said. “There were no other trade shows here that dealt business to business. At the time, we thought we needed a spot for businesses to communicate. There was nothing for business-to-business shows to showcase their products and services to other business owners.”

Richard Avdoian, president of the Edwardsville-based Midwest Business Institute, also writes for the monthly business magazine and said that the metro-east business community could benefit from its own exposition, where professionals can gather to collaborate and strengthen the local economy.

“It gives local businesses the chance to network with other businesses,” Avdoian said. “Networking provides them with an opportunity to meet with people from other businesses to come support them as well as network with prospects and things of that sort by learning from others.”

Avdoian said 12 seminars are scheduled, including presentations covering successful branding, creating an online presence and how to grow a business and profits. A number of businesses will be in attendance to share information and literature about their services and products.

The expo will be held 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Gateway Convention Center in Collinsville. Admission is free and open to the public. Exhibit space remains available for any interested businesses. Call 618-972-8588 to find out more.

This story was originally published July 18, 2015 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Metro-east to host first business expo next month."