KEDA Fall Forum “Celebrating Small Businesses”, 2024
Topics Covered: Small Business Growth, FIFA Opportunities, Global Tourism, Entrepreneurship Strategies, Branding & Marketing, Financing Solutions
Conference Overall Ratings: Venue (5/5) - Food (3.75/5) - Speaker Content (5/5) - Networking Opportunity (4/5) - Likeliness to Return (3.5/5)
Initial Conference Overview: This was a pretty sponteneous event for me to attend, it focused on the economic growth of small businesses in a city near Seattle. It is a city you can easily get to by Ferry! Which is what I did. The reason I worked hard to get to this event (besides giving myself an excuse to jump on a ferry and the challenge to visit somewhere new) was because they were focusing on an interesting topic: Mostly they were excited about FIFA in Seattle in 2026. I didn’t really know much about this before, but, the more I thought it through (when debating if going to this event) I realized this was a super interesting topic to learn about. Well, I learned a lot! Actually, I was more impressed with this event than my expectations were set. There was some very valuable information presented and great insights. I’ll give you one fun fact, if you don’t read all of the notes below. Though, this fact takes a few steps (but I think you’ll see it’s worth it).
1. What is the #1 most viewed sporting event on tv? The olymipics? nope. The Super Bowl.
2. Guess how many people watch the Super Bowl? 175 Million.
3. For FIFA matches, what is the amount of viewers for the LEAST viewed match? 200 Million.
4. How people watch at least one game each year? 5 billion. Basically half of the planet’s known population.
When the speaker shared this info, the woman behind me at my table goes “I guess I”m part of that other half!” I turned around to her and laughed, “me too!” But I think 2026 I’ll flip to the other side :). Join the other half to the world and watch a match… maybe even in-person! :)
Photo Collage & Commentary
Bullet Point Notes from Conference :
Seattle will host 6 matches and Vancouver nearby will host 7 with projected 750,000 attendees from around the world (50% international). There is also significant downtime between the games, giving businesses the chance to engage visitors with activities, events, and experiences.
Greater Kingston Community Chamber of Commerce produces an amazing merch/pen
FIFA World Cup 2026 is a big win for PNW businesses.
750,000 attendees from all over the world (usually 50% is international) bringing energy, excitement, and opportunity
Speaker Leo Flor has worked hard in the nonprofit sector of Seattle for a long time. He served in the army too. He has helped locally with turning hotels into shelters for homeless over the pandemic. He has helped facilitate behavioral health facilities. Now he runs a nonprofit that is helping to coordinate the Seattle FIFA logistics… happening in 2026 aka 600 days from now.
This will be a historic event and an opportunity for businesses to thrive. In December of 2025, we will find out which countries will be stationed here. That’s when you can send advertisements, in their language, their way, preparing for the events.
Whoever is able to direct people with how to spend their free time, they will make the most from this event.
How do we make the city stronger from this event?
Advance the region and help businesses?
FIFA is the largest sporting event in the entire world, and this may be the biggest FIFA in the history of FIFA.
This may be the biggest sporting event of our relative history.
6 Matches will be in Washington State
Most people will not stay for just 24 hours. And no two games are two days in a row. This means people will have lots of free time for hanging out locally. A lot of people from all over the world.
Seattle has 6 matches and Vancouver has 7, so people may travel between both.
Teams base nearby in Renton or Spokane, Portland and Vancouver. They will arrive a few weeks early with staffs of thousands.
There will be fan activities and fan zones. Fan festivals, about 30,000 people/day will go to FanFest at the Seattle Center. 9 different “Fan Zones” will be established across the state.
Let people know the best way to get to the game may be by ferry - they can stay across from the city, ferry over, then arrive 1/3 of a mile from the stadium. People don’t have to stay far away and be stuck in traffic.
Visitors need help knowing that ferries are an option. Your businesses can be featured on their app so that people know it’s an option. There are limited numbers of businesses featured on this app though because they have limited resources and don’t want to flood the app. This will meet the guest with info they want and need.
compete in the real world to get featured on their app. You can offer the best deals, etc.
Businesses should have “readiness” for the biggest sporting event ever in modern history. More than just the games themselves. It’s a bigger experience. You must be creative in getting this opportunity.
Make lasting, local progressive moves with this moment of global focus
—- FOOD Entrepreneurs speak
IGGY’s fermented foods and drink that enhance there customer’s health and delights the senses. They offer good jobs, food and table coming together for the human experience, and increased energy and wellness for their customers.
they sell 12,000 GAL of fermented beverage per year
100,000 cans/year
1,000 dishes served/month in their restaurant
Sometimes you need to diversify in your business, and sometimes you need to focus too.
Restaurant Lola: 20 seat exclusive restaurant for date night. Very elaborate dishes and quality meals.
She wrote in a local forum, “I’m looking to takeover someone’s restaurant, is anyone selling?” and within 2 hours over 30 restaurants had responded to her. She found one she liked.
She has been featured in the New York Times and Seattle Eater
They have regulars and new people. A very certain person goes here, someone willing to spend $100+ per person.
Staffing is very hard at a place like this because they only have 20 tables.
The taxes are hard on small businesses.
No salaried employee will work for less than 70k.
There are also not as many amenities in this area of the region, requires a lot of traveling or higher prices.
all of these problems can compound.
This restaurant is intentionally a “jewel box” - versus her 100 seat pizzeria in Birmingham, Alabama
It is hard to present this to your customers. The labor and the reasons for the pricing.
Cody Morgan: always had the dream of living the entrepreneur life and making something that way.
21 years old, started brewing beer in his parents backyard.
He dropped out of business school after his dean suggested it. He said to take what he’d learned and go ahead and start the business.
He first opened up his first store. He started with what he’d learned and opened up an MVP with very limited resources. He made a tiny beer store for a few thousand dollars.
Taking many calculated risks. Taking many risks all around.
He’d opened up his first store, next he opened up a taproom (but this was shut down after 6 months when he lost the lease). After that, he bought a place ( a restaurant he’d worked in one summer!) and renovated it. They hired no labor, only him and his friends worked for a year and a half. They had to do a fundraiser when they raised 45k, which helped them get through. Now he’s working to build a brewery so he can be his own first customer. He’s worried about money, but believes in himself and this opportunity. He thinks it will pay off in the end.
He renovated a 6000 sq ft restaurant
Just bought a second restaurant location.
This year has not been easily financially, but hoping to make commercial beer by Feb 2025.
He said he really understands why many restaurants go out of business. Local government should offer a grant program or full service restaurants will continue to go down and fail. The challenge is in the money.
Tipping makes people really question how much their food is worth (versus no tipping)
—- Selling Your Business
You gotta start with the end in mind. What is your plan to get there?
Ways to end your business:
sell to an outside third-party buyer (individuals, strategic private equity, search funds, family offices)
sell to internal employee or other partner
transfer to child
wind down or transfer through estate planning trusts
sell to ESOP (employee sponsored program—- though not suggested unless you’re netting 50M+)
Then you need a tax plan for your business sale. You can’t write it all off.
A write-off is a business expense used to decrease your taxable income.
Your business’ value is what you drop to the bottom line. All the stuff you bury in your business… put as much money into your bottom line to as possible to look profitable. Show that you can make money. If you’re not paying yourself, reasonably modify your profits.
If you’re not making any money, who is going to buy your business? They’ll just wait for you to go out of business.
If you’re taking distributions instead of a W2 this is something o consider. Distributions take all the cash, instead of building up a bank.
You need to provide a reasonable living wage salary.
TIMELINE
Selling a business… takes 2-3 years to go to market. Then signing for 18 months. Then you have to stay involved for 3 months - 3 years depending on the agreement. If you want to sell your business, it will take 5 years. Most people don’t realize it.
Your business is not worth what you think it is. You need a business plan legal help and tax advice.
Who is on your team? Get a team of people to help you through this process. The process to sell is not easy.
Mergers & Acquisitions are leveraged to protect the buyer and sellers.
When you don’t address your issues and put off your problems, put your head in the sand, your deal will fall apart. Address your issues! You have to be exceptionally prepared and have all of the buyer’s questions ready to be answered.
Effective marketing - if you can perfect this… tell them everything they want to hear.
Create the business model and understand the culture. You’re creating a legacy brand.
Most businesses are run by baby boomers, however there is going to be a wealth transfer over the next 5 years. 14 Trillion dollars will change hands.
Only 1/4 of businesses sell, the rest shut down.
—— Small Business Funding
Lots of budding opportunities in FinTech & payment processing
Margins are getting tighter for small businesses and they have less wiggle room for spending.
The pandemic hit everyone differently
Small businesses can take 2 types of popular loans:
SBA7a - new businesses, startup, if they’re working on expanding their business. If it’s under a 2 year window of tax returns, they can get from 30k - 5 million in loans
This takes a lot of prep work, business plans, 2-3 years of projections. Intensee details about what the funds will be used for. the 7a is a process.
504 Loan is popular but the key difference is that it’s used for real estate. You can put as low as 10% down, or use this to refinance. The key is real estate.
Liberty Bank is the youngest bank in Washington State, 15 years old. They were started by grassroots small business owners.
—- Brand Building
Branding basics on a budget.
“Feeling good is a worthwhile goal”
His family moved here in the 1890’s - he loves to support and build brands that help people and organizations connect in this community. For example the farmers markets, marina square.
Branding has evolved.
So much you can control, but really the brand is the way your customers view you.
You want to create an emotional connection and experience for customers
Create a brand that takes up real-estate in someone’s mind.
What do your customers know and like?
Consider using local artists, designers, studios - to grasp the customer’s intersts/culture. They can dive right into your market.
Head/Heart
Values: meaningful connection, overlap
beauty, freedom, connection, generosity, peace, simplicity, justice, community, exploration, service, honor, loyalty, compassion, efficiency, creativity, openness, truth, expression
What do you value as a brand?
Story: ingrained origin, mythology
What problem are you trying to solve and how did you come up with this product?
Brand Hero: Target audience, hero’s journey for customer
The world is lacking something, you see the need. Call the hero to action. Give them this special gift, tool, ability to do this.
we’re all in over our head, we’re all the hero of our own story.
Face challenge
Archetypes: arthtyped personality of brand
muse, captain, rebel, magician, adventurer, engineer, sage, warrior, jester, comforter, communicator, alchemist, architect, defender, innocent, detective, everyman, ruler
Understand your archetype to know the tone you use to speak to people. What are you trying to be on a larger level?
Treasuretrove about brand + organization.
Let other people be the voice of your social media comapign. Use branded elements in everything you do.
People love to scroll, he made a website that is only one page, but worth about 100 pages of content, all scrolling.
Obstacles in today’s world are GLOBAL
things move around quickly and affordably
get people over to this side of the world and explore
They will build 1.1 million more homes in the Kitsap County area for the next 18 years.
Franchise: teach other to be successful with the right tools and guidelines
Anything you can do to grow your network is the key to success.
You can’t underestimate a solid network
Join the chamber of commerce
People will refer you to others cause they like what you do
Washington state is amazing for resources for small businesses. They are forward thinking.
Be a flag bearer of change, making an impact.
Is your business profitable? Or are you just working 80 hours a week unpaid?
Conference “Overall Rating” Further Elaboration:
VENUE - 5/5
Allow me to Elaborate: This was the perfect location for this event. Just moments away from the landing spot of the ferry… nearby was such a beautiful harbor, there was plenty to do. It was even a nice place to sit in the sun and enjoy a little free time relaxing. Inside the conference center, it was nicely setup, clean, and the size was literally perfect for this event. It was really beautiful out the windows too. A sunny day, beautiful sky, beautiful water.
FOOD - 3.75/5
OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVEMENT: Okay. They had a snack break where the snack was cookies… (not healthy, but I was SO hungry so I ate one, almost ate two… but, idk they were just really sugary/sweet and not incredible). Then the appetizers were sorta your classic cheese board, etc. They did have these little salad boats that were cool… but the flavor wasn’t too great. So… I got enough food, kinda… but it wasn’t anything to write about or be too impressed with if I’m going to be honest. But, they also didn’t advertise that they’d have a dinner (only appetizers), so, this was like… standard/above average-ish appetizers. Lots of cheese options.
SPEAKER CONTENT - 5/5
ALLOW ME TO ELABORATE: They had a great mix of speakers at this event and everyone was interesting. Everyone was engaging and insightful. They covered a range of topics too! The event was timely, too. Nothing ran too late (except one guy, but he was gushing on and on about how much he loved this city. He was like 6th generation! So, no one minded. And he only ran like 7 minutes over).
NETWORKING OPPORTUNITIES - 4/5
Room for Improvement: The first break was only 10 minutes long, then the next event was happy hour, for the last hour. I don’t drink alcohol anymore (I did back in my younger years). So… I didn’t find myself too interested in the socializing after. For this event, the limited time they had, etc… I think they did a good job with networking, though I did see lots of people need to leave early. So if they’d had more time for you to network (and talk to the vendors in the middle of the time) it’d be better. Probably for the vendors too. They put so much work into their tables.
LIKELINESS TO RETURN - 3.5/5
ALLOW ME TO ELABORATE: This town is really cute and they have some amazing businesses. I think I’d be happy to come back, though… only if I do really have the time. It’s a fun journey, but I’d not mind missing this once or twice, just since there’s not a LOT at the moment I can do with this group. And I see this was the “fall” forum, so if they have another one in “winter” that may be a little too soon. But you never know! It’s good to know it’s out there. :)
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. 😊
