1. You are currently in business and want to explore new markets and ways to grow your business

2. You are considering starting a business at any time in the future

For the fourth year in a row, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and the Procurement Technical Assistance Center of Ohio (PTAC) are bringing together a variety of resources for veterans or active members of the military. These resources include government agency contracting officers, buyers from large businesses and experts to address your business start-up and growth needs. The event has grown over the years to attract 300-400 veterans from a 5-6 state area.

Workshops will focus on three groups:

1. Back to Basics - Veterans thinking about or recently starting a business

2. Intermediate - Small business owners who want to take their business to the next level of growth

3. Making the big sale to government and large businesses - Focused on selling to government and prime contractor with the goal of helping agencies and primes meet their procurement goals.

Please see the attached flyer and consider joining us this year. We will have a variety of Federal agencies present along with many large business sponsors, including Invacare, Rockwell, COSE, FirstEnergy and Applied Industrial, several banks and more to come! Our premier sponsors again this year are Lorain National Bank and Lorain County Community College.

We expect to reach capacity again this year, so register soon to reserve your spot. You may register now by visiting www.lcedc.org and clicking on the registration button on the left side of the page. Once registered, we will send you additional details and driving directions prior to the event.

If you have any questions, please feel free to John at 440-357-2294.

Please pass the word to all of your veteran and active military family members, friends and co-workers. Hope to see you in November!

John Renner

Veterans Affairs Officer

U.S. Small Business Administration

Cleveland District Office

216-522-4167