Local businesses showcased their products and services at the Connection Hub Small Business Expo on July 3, providing residents and fellow entrepreneurs with an opportunity to network, discover local offerings and support small businesses.

Held at the Brakpan Rugby Club, the expo brought together exhibitors from a wide range of industries, while visitors also enjoyed food and refreshments and participated in a variety of free activities throughout the day.

The programme included free wellness checks by Life Dalview Hospital, a Roots marketing seminar presented by Caxton Media, the launch of Spice Life magazine, a demonstration of innovative coffee-based beverages, a fashion show, and a breathwork demonstration.

All the activities on the day were free of charge, and businesses and residents were encouraged to use the opportunity to support local SMEs.

Caxton Media’s head of research, Lynne Krog, presented the Roots marketing seminar. The seminar highlighted specialised, area-specific market research that provides insight into how, when and where consumers spend their money.

The research presented on the day focused on communities in Brakpan, Springs, Benoni and Boksburg, helping businesses better understand local consumer behaviour.

As part of the presentation, attendees took part in a quiz testing their knowledge of the spending habits in the four communities.

Carien van Rooyen of YMoments Studios in Springs achieved the highest score and won a Caxton advertising package. Caxton also gave away a second advertising package through a lucky draw.

Expo attendees entered by placing their business cards into a draw, with the winner selected by Norman Dawe, sales manager at Caxton Media JHB East.

The lucky draw prize was awarded to Sr Bannie Grobler of East Rand Occupational Health Surveillances in Brakpan.

The expo also saw a visit by Brakpan SAPS social crime prevention and communications officer Constable Audrey Buthelezi, accompanied by CPF members, who engaged with exhibitors and strengthened partnerships with the local business community.

According to Buthelezi, the SAPS used the event to promote crime prevention awareness, encourage safety partnerships and educate entrepreneurs on reporting crime, while highlighting the importance of community engagement in creating safer, more connected communities.

The organisers of the expo were pleased with the turnout and the level of engagement throughout the day.

“As small businesses sometimes struggle to meet up with potential clients, we wanted to create a platform where small, medium and large companies could meet up.

“And that is exactly what happened at the expo,” said Mientjie Kleinhans, co-founder of Connection Hub.

Jeanette Minderon, co-founder of Connection Hub, also feels the day was a success.

“The exhibitors had the opportunity to meet so many new potential clients, and many of them ended the day with lots of leads, which is what we set out to do with the expo,” she said.

They shared that six months of planning, negotiating, and organising were worth it to reach the ultimate goal.

“But we couldn’t have done any of this without the exhibitors and our partners, and we want to thank them for all their support,” said Kleinhans.

“We want to thank our media partners, Caxton Media, for all the media coverage we received online and in the printed newspapers.

“We also want to thank our legal partners, Liebenberg Malan Mofolo Inc in making sure that everything was above board. And finally, we want to thank Optimum Media for all the marketing done on their TV screens across the East Rand.”

Some of the feedback from the exhibitors included:

• “It was excellent and we’re looking forward to our next expo,” said Susan Roos, owner of Sewing Queens.
• “It was a productive and interesting day. Thanks to the organisers,” said Cindy Muller, owner of Butterfly Catering.
• “Thank you so much for a great expo. It was well organised and extremely helpful,” said Debbie Smith from Ms Allure Jewellery.