C
elebrating its 30th year of
showcasing small business-
es around Australia, the
Franchising & Business
Opportunities Expo held its first
show for the year at the brand new
International Convention Centre
(ICC) Sydney, 25-26 March.Exhibition Manager Fiona Stacey says
the show was a triumph, returning to
Darling Harbour with an Expo bursting
with 120 exhibitors and in excess of 3000
visitors over the two days.
“I think the Sydney show demonstrat-
ed just how relevant the Franchising Expo
is to everyday people wanting to get into
their own business, but with the support of
a strong franchise brand,” she says.
There was a great diversity of business
opportunities at the Sydney event, from
recognised brands such as Godfreys, Clark
Rubber, Solahart, Gloria Jean’s and
Signwave to new concepts like Sabatini’s,
Crave Ice Creamery and Mongrel Joe’s
mobile coffee. International brands mak-
ing their Australian debut at the show
included NHance, Venture X, Photography
for Little People, Streamsmart and a widerange of brands from Taiwan.
United Franchise Group’s National
Director Evan Foster, says the company
had three of its US-based franchise brands
exhibiting - Venture X, Fully Promoted
and Experimac, plus the group’s consul-
tancy firm Accurate Franchising.
“We have built our company by
exhibiting at Expos all over the world,”
says Foster. “In Sydney this year we
launched our new brand Venture X shared
workspace franchise, and rebranded with
Fully Promoted, so we had a lot to talk
about. We met plenty of people who are
keen to start their own business and have
hundreds of leads to follow up in coming
weeks.”
Richard Giannini from Mobile App
City was also impressed. “This has been
an amazing show,” he says. “Last year in
Sydney I took 83 leads over the whole
Expo and I was pretty happy with that. But
this weekend I’ve had more than 70 very
promising leads each day! We are exhibit-
ing at all the shows this year, it’s clearly
worthwhile.”
As always the seminar program was a
highlight of the show, with keynote pre-
sentations from Poolwerx’s high profileCEO John O’Brien, the Franchise Council
of Australia’s Damian Paull and business
expert Brian Walker, also known as ‘The
Retail Doctor’.
Other popular speakers included
Richard Maloney founder of Engage &
Grow, Love Pollo and Lenard’s Chicken
CEO Chris Caldwell, Suzanne
Jarzabkowska and her team from DC
Strategy, and Todd McGregor from New
York Slice.
“It’s always important to research
online, but nothing can replace the value
of meeting someone face to face to discuss
your dream business,” Fiona Stacey
explains. “We also find that exhibitors
benefit from networking at the show with
like-minded people, and from getting a
good feel for the market in each state.”
The Sydney Franchising & Business
Opportunities Expo is the first in a series
of four expos held annually around
Australia. The next show is in Perth on 7
May, followed by Brisbane 22-23 July, and
Melbourne 26-27 August.
Fiona Stacey says organisers are now
gearing up for a one-day boutique show at
Crown Perth on 7 May. It will feature a
mix of local Western Australian fran-
chisors and advisors, as well as new and
well-known national brands. Free pre-reg-
istration is available online for this show
but exhibitor space has sold out.Franchising Expo
kicks off milestone
year in style.
Australian Opportunities Magazine • M/J/J 2017 • http://www.workfromhomemagazine.com.au • 31For information about exhibiting in
either the Brisbane or Melbourne
Franchising & Business Opportunities
Expo, contact Fiona Stacey by email
[email protected] or by
phone (03) 9999 5464.Drop Shipping and
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