WBENC Annual Conference
The Annual WBENC Conference, "Women in Business," is held once a year in a major city of the United States. The Conference is held in the summer usually during the month of June. This is an excellent opportunity to meet national and local corporate sponsors, WBEs and other business contacts. The Conference is 3-4 days and includes a very successful Business Fair, valuable workshops, and a variety of networking events. This is definitely a "must attend" event with over 2,400 attendees to meet and network with.

WBDC Annual Meeting

The WBDC Annual Meeting provides a setting for all WBEs, corporate sponsors, and affilate organizations to come together to review the successes of the year and to plan for the new year. 

WBDC Trade Show

The WBDC has its Annual Conference & Business Expo in the fall and is sponsored by both and WBE sponsors.  This event hosts our Florida WBEs, Out-of-State WBEs, corporate sponsors and supporters, affiliate organizations, and guests.  It is open to the public but will provide specialized networking and match-making activities for Florida WBEs.

For more information, contact Ana Maria at anamaria@womensbusiness.info or go to the Trade Show website.

The Purple Pages

The Purple Pages is an online business directory of exclusively WBENC Certified Women Business Enterprises certified in Florida by the Women's Business Development Center.   We are excited to announce the creation of our new online directory which provides digital ads of our WBEs' products and services.  Each WBE is invited to purchase a full page ad in the directory which will serve to promote their specific products and/or services to our corporate sponsors, other WBEs, website and newsletter visitors, as well as other affiliate organizations.  The second launch will market the Purple Pages ads to a national audience.  Deadline for participation is May 1st, 2010. 

Cost for one page ad: $250

To view the Purple Pages, click here.

Matchmaker Events

Matchmaker events are another one of our most valuable services to our WBEs.  These events are designed to bring corporations and WBEs together in a one-on-one format.  A WBE will fill out an application which is then sent to the corporation for review.  They review the application and determine if there is a need or interest in the WBEs' product or service.  A meeting is setup with the qualifying applicants and their respective corporate representatives.  These meeetings are usually 15 minute one-on-one sessions with a corporate representative.

Corporate Close-Ups
A Corporate Close-Up is usually organized by one of our corporate sponsors or partners in order to provide information to our WBEs on how to do business with their company.  At these events you have an opportunity to meet buyers, managers, and/or supplier diversity executives. Specific information is given for working with buyers for your industry.  It is an excellent opportunity for our WBEs to gain an understanding of the vendor application process, industry-specific guidelines and regulations for doing business with these companies, as well as determine where current and future contract opportunities lie.  The WBDC Calendar will list all current events.

Done Deals™

Done Deals are an opportunity to share contracts awarded between WBEs, local, regional, and national corporations, and the Federal Government. This list is a good resource for both Corporations and WBEs. The more Done Deals that are reported the more exposure to both corporations and WBEs. Done Deals provide a great marketing opportunity and a way to share WBE successes.

Monday Member Matchup

Tuesday Toolbox

Tuesday Toolbox is a monthly WBDC resource designed to help our WBEs “think outside of the box” when it comes to business development. Each month offers a different tool to consider.

Holiday Party

Our Annual Holiday Party celebrates the successes of our WBEs for the year. It is our WBE's opportunity to meet and network with Corporate Sponsors and other WBEs. While being a good networking occasion, it is also a nice social event that brings together business associates, colleagues and friends. New relationships are formed and old ones are renewed in our final event of the year. And don’t forget that each Holiday Party benefits one local charity.