The Small Business Expo (SBE) is a traveling B2B company that prioritizes networking specifically for small businesses. I recently attended the Small Business Expo in Detroit, Michigan. I attended fresh off the plane from the Philippines on a Tuesday morning and walked right into the thick of things for Wednesday’s expo. We joined alongside 3,000 small to medium business owners in the area and, man, was that a really rewarding experience to work a booth there. My colleague Anne-Marie and I quickly set up our station and jumped right in to engage with you all!

Our booth featured a set up of three laptops so clients could actually jump on a headset and meet our VAs, hear their English, ask any specific questions, or just to say hi. We didn’t realize the power of those VAs being live and available to show what it really would look like to have a VA!

And of course, my VA Kristina, handled everything in preparation for the show- from designing the flyers to getting the banner and everything else. All I had to do was go pick up the booth decorations and set them up.

Overall, the expo was a HUGE success. We walked away with the opportunity to help so many of the people we met and my guess is that 30-40% will convert into clients. This was a great return on investment for us and I highly recommend attending this expo with your own booth or to even browse the opportunity there with your team near you!

Check the SBE expo schedule to see if they are coming to a location near you.

But most importantly… We also learned so much about YOU! The business stories that were shared by each individual were so inspiring. So many of you were working overtime, inundated by your tasks at hand, and were very interested in having someone help take your business to the next level. Help for $7 per hour really shocked many of the business owners we encountered and we got to experience the real life need there was for VAs in the US. This expo showed us just how much business owners need help and that they didn’t know where to turn to next.

After talking with all these different business owners, the big takeaway was hearing most people say, “I’m really good at carpentry or I’m really good at XYZ.” They like being a carpenter, but they don’t like some of the business elements, like social media, the customer inquiries that require responsiveness, etc. I call this: “staying in your zone of genius.” Great carpenters want to make sure the house looks beautiful and not worry about the ancillary tasks of a business.

As a small business owner, you wear ten hats, and can keep you from staying in your zone of genius. You want to ideally come home from work and be done with work, right? If you can’t afford someone with benefits, unsure if they will be reliable, and full-time pay is too much, then a VA is for you. The beauty is that they can be on a month to month basis and already have skill sets you could need.

In the end, the result will be that you are not only a small business owner: you will be happier, your work will make a greater impact, and you’re also able to produce more revenue. As a small business, you just don’t have enough hours in the day to call or email everyone back. Don’t miss out on business opportunities and revenue because you are too busy. From the expo, I learned that people can really take their businesses to the next level if they can delegate 20-40 hours a week to a VA to help with the daily grind. The value of delegation and focusing on the tasks you’re a genius at can move the needle and provide a good, profitable income for you and your business.