Hats off to Salón Miempresa

Hats off to the duo Seb Chartier and Candice Laporte of Creaventure for pulling off a fantastic event for the third year running.

Salón Miempresa can now be called well established: it is a benchmark event, mainly for SMEs, the self-employed and entrepreneurs, but multinationals can make very good use of it too.

In just two days, whatever your professional profile, you can get a huge amount out of this event if you have an action plan and apply professional networking techniques, even if you turn up at the event a little lost.

What can you find at Salón Mi Empresa?

More than 80 exhibitors: from SMEs, start-ups, professional associations and public bodies to powerful multinationals such as Vodafone, Google, Regus and Mercedes Benz.

If you’re going as a visitor: visit every stand that interests you, because they all pull out the stops at this fair, so with their best offers you’ll save yourself a tidy sum.

If you’re going as an exhibitor:

1. Don’t sit at your stand waiting for people to come and see you.
2. Go round all the stands and chat with everyone who has an affinity or a business opportunity with you.
3. Go fishing for interested people in the walkways and conference rooms.
4. Liven up your stand with a prize draw, a game or a little something for whoever comes to visit you.
5. Don’t hire hostesses or hosts; take your own team instead, they’ll know how to sell your company better
6. Sneak onto one of the TV or radio sets to get yourself interviewed.
7. If you’re taking part as a speaker, that’s a plus. Invite the audience to come and meet you
8. Go to some of the talks or networking events at the fair.
9. You’re invited to the VIP lounge, so don’t miss the opportunity.

More than 200 speakers:

Heavyweights, the people who call the shots in public administrations and bodies such as ICEX, ENISA and Madrid Emprende, professional associations, multinationals, the media, experts, prestigious lecturers, CEOs of successful start-ups and, of course, business angels.

If you’re a speaker:

1. Don’t act the guru: people are going to listen to you, so you need to be open to questions, requests for advice and even criticism.
2. Look after your appearance: you’re the image of your company, or of yourself if you already have a personal brand.
3. Get organised so you arrive on time at the room where you’re giving your talk.
4. If you arrive early, you’ll be able to network with your fellow panellists.
5. Thank the organisers for having you, and make them want to invite you back for the next edition.
6. Steer clear of PowerPoint: give a fresh, striking, practical presentation and throw questions out to the audience.
7. Make it easy for people to contact you afterwards with your email and Twitter
8. If you see the people from Agoranews, ask @hojadeparra to interview you 😉

If you’re an imposing figure:

Make the most of it and flirt 😉

More than 10,000 visitors!

If you’re a visitor:

1. Siglo XXI Room: opening talks, keynote lectures, tips for successful entrepreneurship, elevator pitches
2. Business Creation Room: workshops and debate, aimed exclusively at the self-employed, micro-businesses and entrepreneurs who need concrete answers.
3. Development and Consolidation Room: you’ll learn everything you need to deal with venture capital funds, the legal aspects of corporate transactions and how to fund your R&D&I.
4. Franchises Room: a good option for starting a business or, if your business is good, for franchising it.
5. Internationalisation Room: exactly that, tips for making it big abroad
6. ICT Room: to discover and deepen your knowledge of e-commerce, social networks and online search positioning

So if you missed it this year, make sure you follow them for the next edition on their Blog, on Facebook, on Twitter, or catch the best moments on Agoranews

Happy Networking!