Jerry Greenfield, Co-founder of my favorite treat, Ben & Jerry’s, once said: “When you support small businesses, you’re supporting a dream”. Considering that a majority of businesses across the U.S. are small businesses and nearly half of all U.S. employees are employed by small businesses, you can see how that’s true!
Mid-September was a busy time for the Vertical IQ team. With our fall conferences in full-swing, we had two teams tackle two concurrent conferences, both with a very special mission: supporting America’s small businesses.
Things were just “peachy” in ATL
First up, we’ve got the America’s Small Business Development Center (ASBDC) Annual Conference in Atlanta, Georgia, a long-time favorite show of our team. This year, Courtney Farfour, Kinnari Shah, Nicolle DeLiso, and Paul Hock represented Vertical IQ.
For those unfamiliar, America’s 
network of SBDCs help startup businesses get off the ground and small businesses grow. Each year, thousands of small business entrepreneurs seek counsel, training, and financial planning advice from their regional or state SBDC. Vertical IQ is America’s SBDC’s provider of choice for Industry Intelligence, so it often feels like a “family reunion” when our team is on the show floor meeting with the advisors who use Vertical IQ every day to help their clients.
This year’s conference theme was “Digital Transformation,” a concept that our director of training and success, Nicolle DeLiso, embraced during her very own breakout session presentation. Empowering advisors with technology to make their lives easier is what we’re all about, and sometimes you’ve just got to see it to believe it. Nicolle was fortunate to be joined by two SBDC counselors — Fletcher Smith with South Carolina’s SBDC and Rachel Bridgers with North Carolina’s STDC — for a timely session on navigating business owners through pivotal trigger events. Nicolle also demonstrated practical applications of Vertical IQ, showing the jam-packed room some of her favorite best practices.
Remember how I said ASBDC feels like a reunion? During the show, we were reunited with our friends from LivePlan, and it felt so good! LivePlan guides business owners through a simple step-by-step process for creating a fundable business plan, and their platform includes Industry Intelligence powered by Vertical IQ. LivePlan is one of Vertical IQ’s newer strategic partnerships and integrations, and it’s one we’re excited to talk about every chance we get (we’ll get more into that in a minute)! Which leads us nicely into our next conference, the Association of Women’s Business Center’s Leadership Conference.
Grilling up some excitement in KC
The Association of Women’s Business Center (AWBC) is a national 501(c)(3) non-profit organization founded in 1998. The AWBC works to secure economic justice and entrepreneurial opportunities for women by supporting and sustaining a national network of women’s Business Centers with over 100 locations (and growing!).
The AWBC’s Annual Leadership Conference, similar to ASBDC, is an opportunity for advisors to come together and share knowledge about what’s working in their centers and what new tools they could leverage to become more effective. I had the opportunity to attend this show in Kansas City, Missouri — home of my beloved Kansas City Chiefs — along with our CEO, Bobby Martin, and our events manager, Brin Sullivan.
We were immediately immersed in the theme, “Ignite the Power,” when we found ourselves engulfed in a sea of pink at the opening reception. There’s nothing more powerful than a sense of community, and we felt it right off the bat.
The importance of uplifting and empowering female entrepreneurs was clear throughout the programming and even during the networking opportunities.
The Kansas City Current women’s pro soccer team is a prime example of why it’s important to create spaces for female professionals. CPKC Stadium opened earlier this year as the first venue built specifically for a National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) team, and the KC Current have sold out the 11,500-seat capacity stadium for every home match to date.
This gorgeous stadium was the backdrop for a celebration of the graduates of the SOAR Together Program powered by TikTok Shop. The SOAR Together Program is a comprehensive six-week business incubator designed to accelerate and uplift businesses on TikTok Shop through sessions and lessons developed by the AWBC. The program’s female entrepreneurs are the perfect example of why we and the WBCs do what we do: give businesses the tools they need to succeed and live their dreams!
Speaking of tools…
As I said before, we’re always excited to talk about our relationship with our friends at LivePlan! It was on the main stage at the 
AWBC Conference, where I got to do just that alongside LivePlan’s CEO, Sabrina Parsons. It was an incredible opportunity to share how our partnership makes it easier than ever for advisors to help entrepreneurs craft an informed business plan — one of the first and most important aspects of starting a business.
A small business advisor’s secret weapon
To our friends, old and new, at both of these conferences, we hoped to show them how Industry Intelligence can save them time, help them speak a business owner’s language, and provide more profound value to their clients.
Providing Vertical IQ users with the latest insights into business owners’ industries and helping them understand the industry-specific nuances impacting a client’s business is not just a game-changer but a key differentiator.
But why take it from us when you can hear it from one of our friends at the North Dakota WBC: “Vertical IQ equips our clients with essential marketing insights and supports our certified business coaches by providing relevant call preparation questions, ensuring a more impactful experience overall.”
Want to learn how Industry Intelligence can help start and grow your small business? Click here to learn more about Vertical IQ and to request a demo!