Converting Conversations to Contracts offers a trade show style environment for diverse small business owners, potential trade partners, procurement professionals, financial partners and others to build meaningful partnerships that will lead to transactions and economic activity.
Conversations to Contracts
October 14, 2023
CFCC Union Station (U) Building
502 North Front Street, Wilmington, NC
Fireside Chat Keynote Lunch
11 am -12:30 pm
Expo/Tradeshow
1 – 5 pm
Workshops
2 & 3 pm
We aim to lower the barriers to contract conversion by providing...
Access to capital
Access to capital
Access to customers
Access to customers
Access to knowledge and networks
Access to knowledge and networks
Diverse-Owned Businesses
Are you a minority or woman-owned business looking to amplify your impact? Don’t miss this opportunity to showcase your products and services at Conversations to Contracts for FREE!
Why Apply for a Free Booth as a Diverse-Owned Business?
- Visibility: Garner invaluable exposure in front of a concentrated audience seeking diversity in business relationships.
- Networking: Form strategic alliances with other diverse-owned businesses and potential clients.
- Knowledge & Skill-building: Gain actionable insights from workshops tailor-made for Minority Business Enterprises (MBEs).
- Access to Capital: Meet and engage with financial institutions to explore your growth opportunities.
- Align with MED Week: Proudly represent your enterprise during Minority Enterprise Development Week.
Exhibitors
Does your business offer essential services that could benefit Minority Business Enterprises (MBEs) or other diverse-owned businesses? Here’s why becoming an exhibitor at Conversations to Contracts could be a transformative decision for your enterprise you should become an exhibitor.
Why Join as an Exhibitor?
- Diverse Market: Access a market that is actively seeking to diversify their business relationships.
- Credibility: Associate your brand with an event focused on inclusion, diversity, and community development.
- Direct Engagement: Communicate directly with decision-makers, bypassing the usual barriers to entry.
- Strategic Partnerships: Align your business with organizations committed to diversity, enhancing your brand’s values.
- Expand Customer Base: Leverage this platform to convert meaningful conversations into profitable contracts.
Oct 14th | 11-12:30pm | Third Floor
Fireside Chat:
Building an Enterprise
Dr. Anthony Josey
Facilitated by Girard Newkirk
James A. Josey has spent the past twelve years in government procurement and acquisitions. He is currently a Level III Certified Acquisition professional holding Unlimited Warrant Authority within the Department of State’s Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU).
James Josey joined the US Department of State in Washington, DC in February of 2015 as a Senior Procurement Analyst in the OSDBU Office. He oversees the small business efforts of the Bureau of Overseas Operations, WOSB/EDWOSB Program, and assists the Information Resources Management (IRM) Bureau for the OSDBU Office.
Josey was once asked, “What drives your passion for small business?” He responded, for most people working with small businesses is just a job, an occupation. For me, it is a ministry, part of God’s Great Commission. Many of these businesses employ people who are on the margins of our society.
Workshops
2 pm Workshops
Taking Care of Business
- Room: 528
- Speaker: Chrystal Fray (State Farm)
- Topic: Managing day-to-day business activities, understanding risks
So You Have Opened a New Business…Great!
- Room: 529
- Speaker: Ned Marable (First National Bank)
- Topic: Opening deposit accounts, understanding credit options
Work in Wilmington
- Room: 527
- Speaker: Tunya Smith (NCDOT)
- Topic: Opportunities to do work with NCDOT in the Wilmington area
Writing A Capability Statement
- Room: 512
- Speaker: Olivia Chavez-Carroll (NCMBC)
- Topic: Capability Statement Writing (Details pending)
3 pm Workshops
Getting started in the Trucking Industry
- Room: 529
- Speaker: Lorenzo Thorpe (Roam Freely Logistics)
- Topic: Insights into freight dispatching, entering the trucking industry
Novant Health Supplier Diversity Program
- Room: 526
- Speaker: Erica Hall & Samantha Voreh (Novant Health)
- Topic: Program overview, key processes
Work in Wilmington
- Room: 527
- Speaker: Tunya Smith (NCDOT)
- Topic: Opportunities to do work with NCDOT in the Wilmington area
Living the Dream: Don’t Let Anything Stand in Your Way!
- Room: 528
- Speaker: Sonya Peele (YWCA)
- Topic: 3 Steps to Breaking through the Obstacles
Finance Panel Presentation
- Room: 512
- Speaker: Multiple Speakers
- Topic: Various financial topics
What to Expect: Business networking Certification Support Contract Opportunities Workshops & Seminars
“We pair organizations with qualified diverse owned businesses and local small business owners.”
Event Goals:
1. Create Contracting Opportunities
2. Grow Diverse Owned Businesses
3. Diversity Supply Chains
4. Reduce Barriers To Growth For Diverse Owned Business
From our Sponsors...
Sponsorship Opportunities
Luncheon Table Sponsor
This sponsorship provides seating for 4 to 6 diverse owned businesses to attend the luncheon
- Table Naming
- 2 Seats at Luncheon
- Exhibit booth location at Conversations to Contracts Trade Show
- Recognition at Conversations to Contracts
- 1/2 page ad in The Block Report MED Week Edition
- Logo on all print, digital and social media
INVESTMENT: $2,000
Supporting Sponsor
- Exhibit booth location at Conversations to Contracts Trade Show
- Recognition at Conversations to Contracts
- Logo ad in The Block Report MED Week Edition
- Logo on all print, digital and social media
INVESTMENT: $500.00
Exhibitor Booth Only
- 6 foot table
- Two Chairs
INVESTMENT: $250.00