The Biggest Small Business Week Event North of Toronto Monday October 15, 2012 9am – 5pm City Playhouse Theatre Thornhill, ON (Bathurst just south of Hwy 407)

Small Business Week 2012

Sponsorship Information

2

About Us

What is YRSBiz? Connecting Small Businesses Online and in York Region

1

The York Region Small Business Club is all

about connecting small business owners

through social media and other online

initiatives and through in-person events. This is

not your typical networking group. Events may

include a casual get-together, workshops,

brainstorming sessions, book club meetings,

Twitter Parties, Online Meetings, and more!

Our goal is to provide free or low-cost

opportunities where we can connect and learn

from each other in a no-pressure casual and fun

environment. We nurture those relationships

we build through our in-person events by

providing more opportunities for people to

connect with each other through our social

media accounts and on our Website online and

offline to connect and engage.

2

Some of our Features:

• Promote Local Small Businesses • Partner with organizations that follow the

same goals and principles as us • Provide opportunities for Small Businesses to

promote themselves for low to no costs o Swag Bags and Prize donations for events o Pay what you can event sponsoring for our

smaller events. o Affordable sponsorship opportunities at

larger events o Blogging Circle (Each member in the circle

blogs for someone else each month) o Guest Blog Posts

• Help, however we can, whenever we are able to do so.

YRSBiz covers all of York Region and we also

have a few members outside the area that join

us. We are an inclusive group, but keep all

meetings and events located in York Region.

The York Region Small

Business Club connects

businesses online and

through in-person events

throughout York Region.

3

What is this event all

about?

We want to CELEBRATE! all of the amazing Small Businesses in YR!

1

We have met so many wonderful small business

owners. We want to provide them with a venue

to share their stories, experiences, inspirational

messages, failures, talents and more. While this

event will have some amazing guest speakers to

motivate, inspire and teach others, we really

want the focus of this event to be on making real

connections with each other.

Small Business owners from throughout York

Region will be called upon to submit

presentations to be a key part of the event.

Depending on submissions we expect to have

10-25 five -minute presentations throughout the

day by local small business owners. These

presentations are not to be pitches or

promotional talks. They are an opportunity for

these individuals to share their experiences with

everyone else. Those attending will be voting

for best Small Business speaker and that speaker

will be awarded a prize.

Each speaker will be video taped and those

presentations will be shared through our social

media networks.

2

On of our speakers is Marc Gordon. He will be

sharing his stories and lessons from his own

experiences. Marc Gordon has been called a

champion for small business and a marketing

superstar. His openness and desire to share ideas

has made him a sought after speaker by

franchises, associations, and business groups.

Learn more about Marc at http://marcgordon.ca

David Cohen,

(author of Bust

Out, Ignite your

Inner

Entrepreneur, a

well sought-out Small Business coach and Small

Business Big Ideas Radio Show host) will be

conducting a workshop on “How to take the Fear

out of Cold Calling”.

Other workshops topics may include Social

Media, Financial and creative problem solving.

4

Networking

Vendors

Art Exhibits

Swag Bags

Keynote Speakers

Event Snapshot A high quality, value-added and fun event!

1

Features we are planning:

- Facilitated Networking - Vendor Showcase - Art Exhibits - Swag Bags, or conference gift - Break-out Sessions and workshops - Brainstorming for Business - Social Media Discussions - Panel Discussion

We won’t necessarily be able to do ALL of these, but we will have a good balance of learning, networking, sharing and fun!

Who’s coming?

The theatre holds over 350 people! Small

Business Owners mainly from York Region will

be attending.

2

Marketing:

We are planning an aggressive marketing campaign including:

• Ad on back page of Newmarket Snap

• 2,500 event postcards with targeted distribution to small business owners in York Region.

• Press Release

• Partnering with local small business centers and chambers to help promote

• Affiliate and referral program

• Partnering with local media outlets.

Spotlight Presentations by Small Business

Owners

Corporate Coaching

Brainstorming

Social Media

5

Why you want to be involved…

We are looking to partner

with organizations that are

just as passionate as we are

about celebrating small

businesses and seeing them

succeed. We are hoping to

work with you to help you

reach your target market

while helping us to continue

to provide quality events

and services to York Region

Small Business Club

members.

Some reasons you may want to get involved:

- Exclusivity for Sponsors (ex. Only one photographer, one realtor etc for Title and Main Sponsors)

- Connect directly with hundreds of small business owners in York Region

- Support YRSBiz and our members

- Promotion of your business before the event, at the event and after the event!

- Press Release to be sent out - Follow up Promotions include

an edited video, blog post review, RogersTV coverage, local SNAP newspaper coverage and more.

Statistics:

Website: over 2,000 hits per month

Twitter: over 800 followers mainly small business owner in York Region

Facebook: Over 150 Likes

Newsletter: Over 280 members

Our followers and members are actively engaged and we are grateful for their support!

6

Sponsorship Opportunities: Support local businesses and connect!

Spots Available: One

What it includes:

- Exclusivity in category for Title and Main Sponsors.

- Prominent logo placement on all advertising and promotional materials including event website

- Logo and/or Advertisement/Advertorial in printed program. Full Page.

- Booth/Display area in Lobby

- 4 conference passes

- Logo on lobby screens during the event (30 second spot in rotation)

- Promoted through our social networks

- Speaking opportunity

- Banner on Stage (provided by Sponsor)

Spots Available: Up to Ten

What it includes:

- Exclusivity in category for Title and Main Sponsors.

- Logo on all advertising and promotional materials including event website

- Logo / Ad in printed program ¼ page.

- 2 conference passes

- Logo on lobby screens during the event (10 second spot in rotation)

- Promoted through our social networks

Banner (provided by sponsor) displayed at event.

Spots Available: Up to 24

What it includes:

- Small Logo on event website

- Small Logo on printed program under ‘Supporting Members’

- 1 conference pass

- Logo on lobby screens during the event (3 second spot in rotation)

- All supporting members will have their logo printed on a ‘Supporting Members’ Banner (provided by YRSBiz) displayed at event.

7

Vendor Tables: $150/spot

Spots Available: 15

We have 15 tables/booths available for vendors. Please submit an application online to apply. Preference will be given to York Region Businesses selling physical goods at the event and we will make every attempt to ensure only one business per category. We think shopping makes for good networking too.

Speakers: $150/spot

Spots Available: 24

Share your story, teach us something new or entertain us. You only have 5 minutes though! What you get: Bio in program and on website, 5 min onstage in front of 100-350 small business owners, video recording of your 5 minutes to use as you wish, video clip shared on our YouTube channel and online. Fill out an application online.

Swag Bags

We are deciding between doing traditional swag bags vs. getting a handful

of Swag Bag Sponsors to donate towards getting a premium promotional

item with everyone’s logos on it. Please contact us for info.

Other Opportunities We love to help promote local businesses! Check out these other great

opportunities on how you can get involved with this event!

Speaker Prizes

We are looking to have attendees vote for the Small Business Speaker

Presentations and award the top three speakers prizes. Top Prize > $500,

Second and Third Prizes around $250 or so.

8

Food Sponsor

Call for Artists

Spots Available: TBD

We would love any artists who are interested in displaying their work to

contact us. We think art is a great conversation starter and another way

for business owners to network. Contact us for more details!

Volunteers

This is going to be a huge event and we could use some help! If you want

to volunteer please contact us and let us know how you can help! We

will certainly be looking for about 3-5 volunteers the day of the event to

help with registration and organization. We will list all volunteers on the

website and the printed program.

Other Opportunities . . . Continued We love to help promote local businesses! Check out these other great

opportunities on how you can get involved with this event!

We are looking for food sponsors for breakfast, lunch and coffee break! Contact us if you are interested!

After Party Sponsor

We are looking for a fun place to go in the evening to hang out, have a

few drinks and relax. If your venue is interested in providing non-

alcoholic beverages, a good variety of appetizers and a discount on food

for the evening please let us know. Preference will be given to local small

businesses for this sponsorship.

York Region Small Business Club

Please visit our website for more details on this event and to sign up for sponsorships or to be a speaker!

http://yrsbiz.ca/smallbizweek2012/

Or contact us at: connect@yrsbiz.ca