City of Seattle Reverse Vendor Trade Show, 2024
Topics Covered: Local Business, Government Funding, Government Consulting and Contracting, Higher Education, Trade Work, Partnerships
Conference Overall Ratings: Venue (2.5/5) - Food (3/5) - Speaker Content (4/5) - Networking Opportunity (3/5) - Likeliness to Return (5/5)
Initial Conference Overview: This was an event I have been anticipating for a while. I was encouraged to go to this by some city-sponsored counselors/consultants I was introduced to this past year. I met with a few consultants, pro-bono, paid for by the city/taxes actually. Their goal is to help small businesses, especially minority run and who have been struggling since COVID. The consultant recommended this event to me, so I went there with a strong intention… the goal was to simply get a feel for the event. This year I was not prepared.. it has been a little “weird” of a year for my career. I don’t want to get into it for the whole internet to know, at least not now/here… but, circumstances have placed me in this new intention/setting. My goal lately has been to observe and learn, rather than focus heavily on networking. Instead, just really observe and learn. So in the future, when things are different, I’m smarter with my approach. This is an event I will definitely attend again in the future, with a way different mindset and strategy. For now, I was there to figure out what is going on and how it works.
Bullet Point Notes from Event:
I loved that some companies/businesses had multiple tables for their single company. I think this was out of necessity in this case, but it was something I’d not seen before so simply. Usually you see only one company per table (or you see a bigger “booth”. In this case, there were multiple (3-4) tables from the Depart of Transportation, for example, and they each had many people there you could talk to about projects. This was cool. Everyone was very approachable at this event.
It looked a little unprofessional to see how many empty tables there were, scattered throughout. Some were simply empty, others had names cards for companies… but no represenatives. So they didn’t show up?
If I were in charge, I would last minute (hopefully) thought up the idea to put some sections where people could sit… write, etc. There are many deals being made at this event, or at least prospective deals and relationships (that’s what I was told by one woman, “the conversations you have at something like this are what make it happen”). It may be smart to add areas where people can sit, scattered among the tables. It accomplished 2 things: it removes the empty space + it provides a comfortable place to network a bit more conveniently/rest.
This is a walkable area, and even parking is a bit of a walk from here, depending how much you wanna pay for parking. So, having extra seating could be smart and kind in this type of situation.
It was also unprofessional how they setup the “officials only” section in the back, but it was visible a bit to everyone, and you could see there was lots of food back there. There was no food for anyone else. I think if they had covered that up a bit, it would just have a better “look” to it.
Also, one of the first things I noticed was their sign printed for the event, hanging near the entrance. The picture taking up 80% of the sign looked distorted and squished. It was a skyline of Seattle, with the Space Needle in front and then the city behind that. But it looked warped/squished. It seemed surreal, almost. The fact that picture was approved… I feel like in 2024, we have so much technology and ability (at least from people my age and younger) to make something like that look so fantastic. So, I thought the fact the sign for this event I’d heard so much about and had been anticipating for months… their single sign was squished… it was unreal. Next time, they should spend that exact same amount of money on a color sign, get a HD picture from the exact same spot - and just crop it better… or have it be the maximum size it can be without looking pixelated, then add a border or something. Just basic graphic design stuff… I think that would look a lot better (if they care about this stuff).
I really loved a lot of the ways some of these tables were displaying information and their project plans. The color coded timelines matching to the maps was very cool and easy to understand. More people woudl love to see this kind of stuff - and it’s useful in education/explaining. I put some pictures below of how they laid things out. Next year I’d like to get even better pictures of these.
Businesses/Departments Attending:
Seattle Transit, Seattle City Lights, City of Seattle FA’s, City of Seattle Labor Equity, City of Seattle Finances and Administrative Services, City of Seattle FAS WMBE/Compliance, City of Seattle Purchasing and Contracting, Greater Seattle Business Association, King County Procurement and Contract Services, King County House Repairs Program, Seattle Department of Transportation, Office of Economic Development, Department of Education/Early Learning, US Small Business Administration, Seattle Parks and Recreation, Washington State Ferries, Women and Minority Owned Small Business Enterprises, Washington Apex Accelerator, Snohomish County, Seattle Center, Foster School of Business, Tabor Nonprofit, Seattle Central College
Trade Worker College:
Audience: kids who want to get into trade, attend college with a guaranteed job and the option for zero debt.
A car is essential for trade workers, which points out the importance of planning and financial literacy for students entering these programs. Getting into trade work means you need a car/transportation.
Tuition to these colleges can be free, so you go right into a job out of graduating.
The program includes classes for about 11 weeks. Both daytime and evening/weekends.
You can learn: Iron working, electrician work, labor work, carpentry, heavy equipment operations, plumbing, boiler making, roofing, sprinkler fitting, painting, elevator constructing, heat/frost installation, floor covering, drywalling, glass installation, glazing, masonry, and cement working.
40% of jobs in the state of Washington are tied to trade.
SDOT was looking for consultants and contracting opportunities. Most everyone here (like over 60-70%, maybe more) were looking for people to help them get projects done. You needed to apply and get qualified/approved to then compete/bid for the jobs. Jobs building roads, highways, bridges, etc.
Safe Ride to School: may be able to work with kids/content
Vision Zero: related to kids education/financial literacy
US Small Business Administration
Counseling, training, lan programs, consulting.
Help with small business development, women owned businesses, score mentoring, and veterans.
Small business leadership mentoring with THRIVE (Train, Hope, Rise, Innovate, Venture, Elevate) - online training and courses + business coaching.
Help with your business plan.
Work to take advantage of local resources, opportunites, and partnerships.
Register to be a women-owned small business at www.Sam.gov + certify.sba.gov (for free?!)
Washington APEX Accelerator
Helps you get ready for the Government Marketplace.
no-cost advising on how to grow your firm to be selected in the government marketplace
Foster School of Business: offered degrees to learn to be a consultant. So, the vendors needed consultants, but also you can come here to learn to be a consultant if you don’t have that done yet. It was interesting to see the different stages of these processes all present at this event.
“The conversations at events like these are what makes the action happen.”
Recreation team (from parks and rec) would be the best bet to talk to for someone like me. Especially the Deputy Director, they have started programs of their own and have experience in management.
Tabor Nonprofit helps minority owned businesses and match you with a consultant. You can also join their membership program to join exclusive monthly workshops, seminars, and events. They’ll help you with accounting, social media, operations, etc.
They help small businesses with monetary contributions and partnerships.
Training, scholarships, conference room accessibly, meeting rooms, co-working spaces, office rentals.
Contracts for WSDOT, for example, ranged as high as 1.37B to 84M.
Photo Collage & Commentary
Conference “Overall Rating” Further Elaboration:
VENUE - 2.5/5
Room for Improvement: Compared to its surrounds and your journey to this location, arriving there is so lackluster. It’s in the basement of, I think, a ballet practice auditorium. But it’s right in the center of Seattle near so many attractions. Finding it isn’t too easy, and then when you arrive, it’s just so lacking character. Probably even the venue owners themselves would admit, it’s one of the least flashy venues in all of Seattle. You feel sunken and there’s no art and hardly any character. The setting is a little strange too in that it has sorta a mezzanine surrounding it on two of the walls, but also you don’t go up there. It’s just a strange building, but worked for something like this, too. This event didn’t need to impress people. However, I just feel this room is only 80% complete. They could add to it in general to make it more inviting. They need a coat check, too! Me and some random people ended up improvising and leaving our coats on the rails of a stairway!!
FOOD - 2/5
Room for Improvement: No food for the attendees, but vendors had food secretly in a divided-away section. It was strange cause the secret area was visible to everyone too, at least part of the food buffet they had - that felt a little unprofessional, being able to see their private food - while we had no food available at all. The “haves” and “have nots” (though the “haves” deserved it since they were there for work). Seems they should have really made that less visible, at least the food part. Let another part be visible if you gotta. Besides that, the event provided drinks for everyone, but the drink setup was kinda a mix of casual-extravagant. It was like… (you know how they say “dogecoin is the poor man’s bitcoin”, this was the poor man’s drink buffet extraordinaire. This had like a station of a LOT of sliced citrus fruits and mint and cucumber for your water… and hot chocolate mix and apple cider mix, coffee and tea. It almost reminded me of a hotel breakfast buffet selection. It sorta made me laugh, too, I’d never seen a drink setup like that. But the almond milk gave a weird flavor to the coffee instantly and I threw it away after my first sip. It tasted so funky, then just moved to tea…. and not a lot was on ice, either. So it just seemed a lot/all of the citrus fruit slices would go bad and the almond milk was already expiring. Overall, this drink station was just sorta like a hot mess, but had plenty to choose from that was fine. It was “too much” but “not enough” at the same time.
SPEAKER CONTENT - 4/5
Room for Improvement: There were many companies/government departments here. I feel like everyone was approachable, though you needed to do some digging and looking to see which departments to talk ago and if your work applied. They could put a bit more work into their displays, providing information for people… though I wonder how much some of these companies TRULY wanted people to apply for these projects, and how much was just “part of the procedure”, doing all of this… but they kinda know who they’ll pick in the end. In addition, I felt there were so many empty tables all over the place. Some were simply empty, some had a name card of a department that (didn’t show up???). It looked unprofessional and strange. So, those tables could have been put to better use for the event as a whole. Even last minute put them together in a little social area so people can chat. I would have also liked to see a map of who’s table is where (and some people working there, vendors, said the same thing). That being said, probably there were 30 businesses/tables there… just a rough guess. And there were 4 hours of event time. I feel like it was plenty of time to talk to everyone (assuming your schedule allowed it, too). However, maybe some people felt that time wasn’t enough.
NETWORKING OPPORTUNITIES - 3/5
Room for Improvement: This event had lots of “standing in line” while waiting to talk to table/representatives. In that way, it was probably really easy to talk to people. I did actually have a few conversations with people in this context. However, everyone is also kinda trying to keep an eye on when it’s their turn to talk. It was the type of event where you had to go out of your way to meet people… but also the entire event was about talking and having conversations. It was all there was to do, almost. But you had to do it yourself. And there weren’t a lot of like… places to stand and hang out or talk, or even put your jacket. So, it was a mix of “convenient to chat” but also, “not quite”. One thing was that all of the tables did have ways to follow up with each other, and I’d imagine anyone you met there you could easily follow up with if you’d like… but still, it just wasn’t the most “social” promoting, but wasn’t “not” either. Hahah. Perhaps they could add an element to this. Like a place to sit even.
LIKELINESS TO RETURN - 5/5
Allow me to Elaborate: I will totally attend this event in the future with my business/goals in mind. My goal was to observe and prepare for the future. It was a really useful time. I actually look forward to returning next year, I think an event like this would be fun with that mission (trying to find a few partnership opportunities for my business). However, this event was totally not flashy at all. It was right down to business. I’d like to bring a little bit of material with me next year, too. A one-sheeter to leave behind. Extremely informative and concise.
Until next time, I wish you the motivation and success to search for opportunities around your area. Search and explore: Who is out there giving talks? There are new things happening all of the time
Find relatable or interesting topics you like and check them out! Maybe even something hosted at a cool venue, if there’s no other reason to go. Let’s see what you can learn and discover not too far from home. 😊
