As many of you know I recently attended my first ever WBENC conference. It literally was a last minute gesture off the heels of a suggestion from one of my podcast guest. 

In my recent YouTube live I mentioned all the details of that adventure and what I learned. I’ll share just a few highlights from my weeklong journey in Atlanta which ended in a Govcon Giant takeover event at the Government Contractor Association building near Airport Road in Chamblee. 

WBENC conference speakers are accessible - I made tremendous connections with the speakers who were subject matter experts. 

Attendees are great sources of inspiration stories. I met several women entrepreneurs who demonstrated courage and strength operation in traditional male dominated industries. One in particular who worked her way up from bookkeeper to buying the company from the owners who wanted to retire. Today the firm does $20M in sales. 

Lunch tables and drink lines are good places to connect. I never avoided the long drinking lines. In fact, I embraced them as a way to have a captive audience that I could engage while waiting for a refreshing beverage. The lunch tables were particularly easy to make new LinkedIn friends as people were in a fixed location for a set period of time with their badges on full display. 

Companies were actively engaged. The companies that sent representatives were there to meet new suppliers. Everyone was showing off new initiatives, programs and ideas for how to satisfy shareholder inquiries and sentiment on incorporation diversity at the corporate level. 

From day one, I met a representative from a global car rental company who openly shared his new role was in this current environment. Conversations that you would not otherwise be able to have over a zoom session. 

A few of the guests that I engaged said that they had been awarded contracts from previous WBENC conferences and were expecting similar results at this year’s events. 

I conclude that it is a safe bet if your organization is looking to grow this is a great place to start. As a man covering the event from a bird’s eye view with nothing to sell it was exciting to see the thousands of interactions. I know that many people left there with new relations and connections that could advance their mission.