Tennessee Business Matchmaking Program Visits Middle Tennessee
Small Businesses Build Relationships And Network With Large Corporations
NASHVILLE – The Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development’s (ECD) Business Enterprise Resource Office (BERO) hosted its Tennessee Business Matchmaking program in Middle Tennessee June 1 at Tennessee State University. Participants in the Middle Tennessee Business Matchmaking event included 132 small businesses, 43 buyers and 12 exhibitors.
“Business Matchmaking is an action-packed event with a new opportunity happening every 15 minutes,” said Joy Twillie, who attended on behalf of a medical sales company based in Clarksville. “You are constantly selling and proving that you have what it takes to be the best in the business.”
The Tennessee Business Matchmaking program pairs small businesses, including small manufacturers, with government agencies, corporations and large manufacturers that have potential contract opportunities, and schedules businesses to meet in 15-minute appointments.
Pat Bisese, whose Oak Ridge firm provides technical support services, said the success of the event depends on how much you put into it.
“It’s only as good as the follow-up. You know, it’s a great opportunity to meet a lot of people quickly–and then if you don’t follow-up and make the best of it, you lose the contact and someone else gets the work,” Bisese said.
ECD Commissioner Matthew Kisber and the department’s Business Enterprise Resource Office (BERO) launched the Tennessee Business Matchmaking program this year to generate economic growth in the state’s small business sector.
“We believe these regional matchmaking conferences will help to stimulate new jobs and growth for Tennessee’s small businesses,” said Kisber. “The matchmaking program provides unique opportunities for small businesses to meet with government agencies and large corporations in a way not previously possible on such a large-scale basis. While the program doesn’t guarantee contracts, because of the nature of the formal bidding process between buyers and suppliers, it does create opportunities for small businesses to hold personal, one-on-one meetings with potential clients that might have taken some weeks or even months to schedule on their own.”
ECD is organizing and hosting the series of regional business matchmaking conferences in partnership with the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). Other sponsors for the events include the Tennessee Small Business Development Centers, UT Center for Industrial Services, East Tennessee State University, Tennessee State University and Southwest Tennessee Community College. The event kicked-off in Johnson City, and will make its next stop on June 29 in Memphis. Registration information is available on the Tennessee Business Matchmaking Web site at http://www.tnecd.gov/matchmaking.
