Summit 2006 Summary

Small Business Summit 2006
Technology & Business: The Perfect Marriage

Following the introduction Charles Hand, President of Verizon Wireless New York City and Scott Vaccaro, Vice President, Enterprise Rent a Car New York City spoke about how their customers excel at customer service and how their large business success can apply to small businesses.

Lisa McCarthy, President of Accounting Resources, an Intuit Quickbooks consulting company helped the gathered small businesses understand how to get MORE out of their accounting software - beyond simple cash flow - how to maximize this important tool.

Harry Brelsford, President of SMB Nation, a company dedicated to helping small business solution providers build their business around Microsoft Small Business Server, guided the attendees in how to pick a solution provider (computer consultant) that would be best for their business.

After Brelsford's speech the Summit had a 2 hour break and attendees had dedicated time to visit the exhibit area and have lunch. Exhibiting at the Summit were sponsors AND many "network partners" - non-profits (for the most part) who provide small business services such as the Small Business Administration, Information Technology Assistance Corporation, World Wide Web Artists Consortium and others.

The afternoon session of the Summit was split into two brain exchange sessions - Sales, Marketing & Business Operations and Using Technology to Communicate.

The Sales, Marketing and Business Operations Brain Exchange, moderated by Marian Banker, consisted of

Charles Jolley, Sproutit.com
Adrian Miller, Adrian Miller Sales Training
Robert Levin, New York Enterprise Report
Lisa McCarthy, Intuit Professional Advisor and Accounting Resource LLC
Jude Jussim, Jussim Communications

The Using Technology to Communicate Brain Exchange, moderated by Ramon Ray, consisted of:

Dan Hoffman, President/CEO of M5 Networks
Rex Hammock, Founder, Hammock Publishing, Smallbusiness.com
Jennifer Shaheen, Technology Therapy Group
Ben Lilienthal, Vapps

Both of these sessions were live discussions rich in information and laughter and intense audience participation.