Hands On Technology - the 4th Annual Pittsburgh Entrepreneur Conference and Honoring Extraordinary Women Awards Luncheon

Join us for a day full of education, professional development and networking opportunities for local entrepreneurs! This year's program was created directly from feedback provided by our more than 700-strong membership of women small business owners.

 Register Now! 

Get interactive! Bring your laptop and mobile devices to gain "Hands On" experience during the presentations.

This event also hosts our signature Honoring Extraordinary Women Awards Luncheon. If you would like to apply as or nominate an extraordinary woman in your life for an award, please click HERE for the nomination form.

9:30 - 10:10 am: Registration/Networking

10:15 - 10:50 am: Online Marketing Tool Kit for Small Businesses
Presented by Donna Baxter - Tech Diva

Everyday there is an increasing number of customers searching for businesses online, and that is where your business should be. This interactive workshop will help to successfuly compete for your customer's business. This online tool box will offers you more ways to customize, manage, track, and adjust your marketing efforts. 

The Online Marketing Toolkit covers five aspects of online marketing:

• Building a Website to get your business online
• Search Engine Optimization to help customers find your business website
• Search Engine Marketing to advertise your business website
• Email Marketing to help keep your customers coming back
• Social Media Marketing to deepen your relationship with customers and get new ones

 11:00 - 11:45 am: The Mobile Entrepreneur
Presented by Cassandra Brown - Jireh Mobile

When opportunity knocks, are you hearing the knock? Smart phones, tablets, PDA's and other high-tech gadgets increase personal and professional productivity. Employees connect to the office from a home computer with secure VPN (virtual private networking) technology. Some sales people use PDAs, mobile computers and other high-tech devices to submit work orders and contact business associates. Sales transactions can even be instantly completed with the use of convenient devices like the Square--a mobile credit card reader just about 1 inch long that connects to most mobile devices. Business professionals and college students are two consumer groups that use high-tech gadgets to finish projects and collaborate with others through mobile technologies while at home, in the dorm or at the office. This interactive work shop will update you to the newest apps, functions that are useful for entrepreneurs, and it will help attenedees to identify which gadget is best for their needs.

11:55 - 1:00 pm: Honoring Extraordinary Women Awards Luncheon
with special vocal performance from Jessica Lee

1:10 - 1:55 pm: Keynote Speaker: Dr. Summer Knight presents "35 Winning Strategies from Today's Leading Entrepreneurs"

Dr. Knight is an entrepreneur doctor turned businesswoman. She is a founder and leads Springboard Partners, a consulting group of CEOs and powerful entrepreneurs who facilitate the rapid growth of scalable businesses. Dr. Knight also leads the DSK brand focus on empowering people to live their GREATest lives. Summer Knight loves to have fun, inspire people to succeed, and facilitate in individuals and organizations.

2:05 - 2:25 pm: Networking

2:35 - 3:20 pm: Building your marketing plan. a panel of local marketing experts.  How do you choose which marketing mix is going to grow your business? Join us for a panel discussion on creating a marketing strategy that fits your business goals and budget.   

Event Pricing:

This full service package includes lunch with open networking, four education sessions, awards ceramony and access to the exhibitors.

Pre registered Cost:  $38.00

At door registration Cost:  $48.00

Premier Member Cost:  $35.00

Click the Register Now button below to get registered for the event!

Register Now! 

The Changing Of The Seasons Warrants A Change In Your Perspective

Most business women wake up early to plan their day. They put an enormous amount of effort into scheduling meetings, making phone calls, attending to administrative tasks, and running errands. But, how many business women put as much thought and energy into planning their website, logo, brand identity, and marketing initiatives? In the early days of the Internet, it was a legitimate concept to simply have a website no matter how it looked or functioned. As long as you could say you had one, you were in good standing. Those times no longer exist. Now, it is imperative that business women devote themselves to creating a strategic plan in order to recover the highest return on their investment when utilizing the Internet as a marketing tool.


The latest statistics are showing that about 1/3 of all new small businesses are being created by women. The FOX Small Business Center Website in an article posted February 19, 2010 boasts, “Not only are women-owned firms contributing $3 trillion annually to the U.S. economy and accounting for 16% of all jobs, but new research shows women entrepreneurs will create 5 to 5.5 million new jobs across the U.S. by 2018. (Source: www.foxsmallbusinesscenter.com/strategy/2010/02/19/study-women-rock-small-business-owners/) These stats prove that we must work harder than ever to stand out from our competition and that competition is now comprised of men and women.


It is estimated that in 2009, approximately 46 percent of small business owners do not have a website at all. (Source: www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?R=1007431)  Not all of these business owners are women, but the nature of our culture today predicts that many will be.  So how does the new business owner make an impact in this fast-paced, ever changing world of Internet technology? Actually, starting with the basics is always a good first step.


Let’s focus your attention on this list of critical items all women entrepreneurs should consider concerning their websites:

• Complements your business, is inherent to your industry, and is search engine friendly
• Clean, concise, quality website design that is displayed correctly using multiple browsers
• Has an updateable feature that allows you to control your content
• Kept fresh with your new ideas, message, products, and services
• Shows your expertise and your niche
• Captures demographic and statistical information used to measure the site’s effectiveness
• Incorporates social media such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Blogging, and News Feeds to keep your business relevant and visible
• Builds a buzz about your site while using traditional network marketing techniques

Most business women just starting a site of their own can find this list a bit intimidating. No fear! You don’t have to go at it alone. My company, Affluent Concepts, prides itself on providing personalized website services to our clients, but we also help to educate business women on what works well for them on the Web.

In conclusion, the path to victory is not always paved in gold. It takes a lot of planning, work and focus to meet your business goals both online and off. Good thing we have one another, huh? The prospect of utilizing one another’s strengths and changing our perspectives can mean the difference between seeing your efforts being planted in the Spring and blossoming in the Fall while you watch the leaves change colors. I hope you are sewing in good soil today so that you can see the fruits of your labor very soon.

Article written by Tonia White
Affluent Concepts Web Design & Multimedia Services

webmaster@affluentconcepts.com

www.affluentconcepts.com