Small-biz owners look for perfect match - Business First of Buffalo:

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and Samantha Palmerton and Cathy Carson were walking into a matchmaking They weren’t sure what to This was, after all, theier first time here. The meetings that were to takeplacee weren’t social; they were all business. This was the kickoff to the 2009 Small Business Matchmaker Awards Luncheon held May 6 at the Buffalk NiagaraConvention Center. More than 300 businessesd registered to meet with 46 primer contractors thatincluded Palmerton’s and Carson’w company, Buffalo Filter, a manufacturer of high-tech filtration Palmerton, strategic planning director, and Carson, purchasint manager, had a goal: catch up with current vendor and learn about otherse who might eventually help out.
By the time they arrived, theifr dance cards were already full: Two signu p sheets packed with prospectivee partners filled upevery 10-minute interval from 8:00 a.m. untilk noon, germane discussions in speed dating-type interviews: Say hello. Tell your Look for opportunities. Then it’ s the firm handshake and “Goodbye,” because someone, somewheres else, is waiting for you. And anotherf entrepreneur is waiting to takeyour “We look to see if (the vendors) are good said Palmerton who, aftedr talking with Amity Lippes of about Buffall Filter’s interest in hosting a blood looked at the signup sheet.
Amonvg the names she recognized wereexisting Amherst-based , which specializes in circuit board assemblies, and , an electronicws contract manufacturer. “Some of the companies here arethose we’re alreadty doing business with,” said Jeff Kryszal of K-Technologies. “There are others we’e like to do more “If it wasn’t for this event, many small businesses wouldn’tf have the ability to talk to buyerws from government agencies or Fortune500 companies,” said Franklin Sciortino, Buffalo District director for the . “Somwe people have been trying to make inroads with certain and now can meet them faceto It’s like opening 46 doors.
” For HR firm, expo helpedc drive business Learning how many SBA loans directly resulty from the expo can be difficult. Accordin to Sciortino and an SBA spokeswoman, pinpointing the dollard amount and number of loans generated by the expo is tougjto do, unless every attendee were to completw and return feedback forms. The in its fourth year, was sponsorerd by Business First, SCORE and U.S. Small Business One small-business owner who had success atlast year’ s expo was Ellen Fechter, who runs Lancaster-based At the 2008 matchmaker, she landedf a five-year contract for staffing and recruitment services for Fort Drum militarg base.
The business she gets from it, she said, was responsibl e for about one-quarter of her 2008 revenues. A year she’s in constant contact with officials regardingttheir needs. Of her matchmaking meeting with Fort Drum last she said, “They were open and candir about the process of going aheade and bidding.” Like Palmerton, another first-timer at the event is Don who runs For his small marketing-services companyu that does a lot of direct-mail he was looking to meet with Bank to see if thered was a chance he could help it. His firsrt meeting of the day waswith HSBC’se manager of retail business services, Kellu Bettinger.
After the two exchangesd pleasantries – and learned they are practicallytneighbors (both live on Grand Island) – Bettinger explainws much of the bank’s printing is done in Salinas, Calif. She suggestecd Papaj visit the HSBC Web site and make some cold calls to a fewpurchasinfg people. Papaj said he plans to follow up withHSBC and, of the added, “It was terrific.” From his cell phon on the way to a noon meeting in he said like Palmerton and Kryszak, some people were those with whom he alreadty is doing business. They gave him names of those in different departments and offered tointroducer him.
“You couldn’t ask for more,” he