BBB Serving Northern Indiana: Build a Better Business Conference Schedule

BBB Serving Northern Indiana and SCORE Northeast Indiana have partnered to bring you the Build a Better Business Conference.

Join us, Tuesday, November 1st from 7:30 – 4pm at the Parkview Mirro Center. The one-day conference will offer northern Indiana business professionals the opportunity to learn a variety of skills that will help them grow and succeed in business.

Whether sales and lead generation or social media basics, the BBB has gathered a team of experts to educate, inform and inspire local business leaders throughout Indiana.  See details below.

And from 12-1pm, join us at the Torch Awards for Ethics luncheon to for a chance to celebrate businesses, charities, and individuals of integrity that "do it right."

Chad J. Willett tapped for conference keynote

Speaker with white shirt on stage with red TedX behind him

Chad J. Willett (National Speakers Association/ Screen Actors Guild) is a TEDx speaker, two time author, and creativity and innovation leader who trained at the world famous improvisational school, “The Groundlings.” He was featured in the hit films “She’s All That” with Paul Walker, “Halloween H2O,” with Jamie Lee Curtis and “Can’t Hardly Wait” with Jennifer Love Hewitt.

In 2021,, Chad was cast in the feature film, “Shirley” where he acted alongside Oscar-Winning actress Regina King and worked with Academy Award winner director John Ridley.

Chad has also worked for three fortune 500 companies (Manpower, ITT Technical Institute and the Washington Post) and is the owner/ operator of Broadway2LA Acting Studio.

Chad is a member of St. Mary’s Church in German Village, Ohio and the creator of the “Make Faith Matter Conference.” He has also been involved with “Big Brothers, Big Sisters”, and a reading literacy program for adults. Finally, Chad is married to his wife Erika, and is a proud father to his baby girl, Scarlett.

 

Pitch your way to START UP on PBS

man with blonde hair, glasses and tattoos on arm looks at camera

Gary Bredow, executive producer and host of nationally syndicated START UP on PBS will host a pitch session during the conference. Gary will give pre-registered business owners 5 minutes to pitch their business to him, with an opportunity to be selected to appear on the show, which has more than 6 million viewers.  

Participants will pre-register for The Pitch with their conference registration. The START UP team will review submissions.

Slots are limited and business owners selected to pitch their idea will be notified by conference officials in advance of the conference.

If selected for the nationally syndicated START UP, pitch participants will be notified in spring 2023. 

ABOUT GARY BREDOW

Gary is the producer and host of the national television program, START UP, a three-time Emmy-nominated docu-series profiling the authentic, human stories of small businesses and entrepreneurs across the US.

Gary is a passionate and dedicated advocate of American small businesses. Although his focus has always been on writing and film/video production, as an entrepreneur himself, he owns several businesses in the Detroit area. Over the past nine seasons of Start Up, Gary has conducted in-depth interviews with hundreds of demographically diverse small business owners all across America, acquiring invaluable information about the climate of American small business.

Schedule Overview

TIMEACTIVITYLOCATION
7:30 AMRegistration/networking/light breakfastMain Hall
8:45 AMKeynote SpeakerMain Hall
10 AMBreakout Session #1Breakout rooms (4)
11 AMBreakout Session #2Breakout rooms (4)
12 PMLunch/Torch Awards Celebration/NetworkingMain Hall
1:30 PMBreakout Session #3Breakout rooms (4)
2:30 PMBreakout Session #4Breakout rooms (4)
3:30 PMPanel Discussion moderated by Gary BredowMain Hall

 

Conference workshops topics include (choose 4 to attend):

COMMUNICATIONS/MARKETING

  • Social Media Basics for Businesses: 10 Key Principles, presented by Anthony Juliano - Asher Agency
  • Leveraging Trust in your Marketing, presented by Tom Antisdel - WANE-TV and Steve Stepp - BBB Serving Northern Indiana

FINANCIAL/SALES

  • Understanding Financial Statements and Audit Prep, presented by Hamil, Lehman & England, P.C.
  • How to Grow and Expand your Business with Government Contracting, presented by Christine Jeffers, Indiana Economic Development Council
  • Finding the Money: Access to Capital, presented by Brian Heichelbeck, PNC Bank

HR/ADMIN

  • Top 10 Legal Mistakes to Avoid/Legal Structure, presented by Joshua A. Burkhardt - Hart, Suedhoff, Kearney LLP
  • Disaster Planning for your Business and Why it's Important, presented by Lance Diffendarfer - Paul Davis of Northeast Indiana
  • Post-pandemic Recruiting and Retention, featuring a panel of HR professionals
  • The Employee Handbook: Purpose and Opportunity, presented by Lisa Mungovan

LEADERSHIP

  • Best Practices for Leaders Managing Time and Stress, presented by Gladieux Consulting
  • Operational Excellence Best Practices, presented by Matt Newman
  • Plan for Your Future by Building a Succession Strategy, Gary Dillman - PNC Bank

START-UP

  • Business Modeling, presented by Billy Mitchell, SCORE mentor
  • The Pitch, Gary Bredow from START UP on PBS