On May 3–4, 2017, Maui Economic Development Board, in collaboration with Maui County’s Office of Economic Development, will present the first-ever Hawaii Small Business Conference. The theme, Design, Protect, Engage: Small Business Strategies for Success, aims to provide business stake-holders with a rare opportunity to sharpen their professional expertise and skills.

“This year’s theme aptly describes what attendees will gain from this empowering two-day event,” said Teena Rasmussen, Director of the Mayor’s Office of Economic Development. “Not only will entrepreneurs, owners, and employees of new and established businesses learn how to take their business to the next level, but also they’ll gain insights on how to stay ahead of the competition.”

Maggie Bayless

Conference attendees will network face-to-face with innovative business leaders and hear their insights, best practices, and tricks of the trade on a variety of topics. They can also take advantage of workshops and exhibits while promoting their goods and services. The first keynote presenter, Maggie Bayless, Co-Founder and Managing Partner, ZingTrain, will explore the elements of leadership and employee behavior that improve the performance of an organization in some meaningful way. Bottom Line Change®, her company’s training framework for teaching key principles of business, is a simple and clear practice for creating change. “At ZingTrain, we show how to strengthen every aspect of the business, based on five key elements: teaching, defining, living, measuring, and rewarding. Then we show the steps to great customer service: find out what the customer wants; get it for them accurately, politely, and enthusiastically; and go the extra mile. Outstanding methods are central to our own businesses and are the template for much of our training work.”

You can’t over-communicate,” Bayless explained. “People need to hear something many times to really take it in. All this communication pays off when they understand what they need to do and are able to make good decisions based on new information. Since most of our businesses are hitting their goals, this tells me we’re doing at least a few things right.”