MyCity4Her is proud to sponsor The Small Business Survival Summit on September 7-9 at the Baltimore Convention Center. This event is the result of the small business advocacy work of WebIXI Inc. (IXI), a small, family owned website design company in Harford County, MD. True to the spirit of the event, IXI has pushed themselves to think outside of the box and create opportunity through innovation.
To think that a small family-owned business would spearhead a project as ambitious as the Small Business Survival Summit is unfathomable – especially during these tough economic times.
That said, there really was no choice, according to Patrick Chambers, President and Founder of WebIXI (IXI), a three-man website design & development firm in Churchville, MD. “We hear it all the time. Small businesses are the driving force of the economy; yet they continue to struggle, stagnate and fail. Small business can’t afford to ride this out. If we, as small business owners don’t own this; if we don’t actually lead the economic recovery, there may not be one,” Chambers says. “IXI put the Small Business Survival Summit together simply because somebody had to do it.”
So the Chambers family — sons PJ, 27, and Steven, 22, are partners in the business — set out to make a statement as much as create an event. All while continuing to run their 16-year old boutique website development & search engine optimization firm.
“As small businesses, we’ve had enough. Declaring ourselves “Too Small to Fail”, we’re taking a stand, creating a program that will empower attendees to think outside the box and position their organizations to succeed – and on a grander scale, through their own success, attendees will help lead our nation down the road to recovery.”
This message is resonating throughout the country and the enthusiasm is spreading like wildfire. This surge is based on the understanding of a simple truth: Only the resurgence of small business will turn our economy around. Summit participants understand their role in not only changing the course of their businesses, but the course of a nation.
It’s a good thing they’ve found help.
The Summit would not have seen the light of day without harnessing the energies of many small businesses, large corporations, non-profit organizations and government agencies within the community. The list of participants and organizational support is quite lengthy – and it’s growing every day. Their collective efforts have developed a program that is second to none.
The Small Business Survival Summit is a three-day event designed to encourage, motivate and train small business owners to re-evaluate and refine their business practices, identify available resources, and align themselves with organizations in their community for mutually beneficial relationships.
According to IXI’s Patrick Chambers, “American businesses today are facing real challenges. Ten years ago, Mayor Giuliani faced the unimaginable. We cannot imagine anyone more appropriate to motivate and inspire local business leaders to not just survive, but to thrive during these challenging economic times.”
Former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani, the keynote speaker for the conference, will speak about “Principled Leadership: In the Face of Change and Crisis” on Thursday, September 8 at 3:00 p.m. Industry experts and successful entrepreneurs from around the country will gather at this conference to share their knowledge and experience in areas including leadership and organization, sales and marketing and social media marketing.
During the keynote speech, Giuliani will draw from his principles of leadership outlined in his best-selling book, covering how effective leadership can ultimately lead to profitability and how to use these principles to inspire excellence from a team.
In addition to Giuliani’s speech, the Summit will feature educational sessions and workshops, an exhibit area and networking events including a dinner/fundraising gala to benefit the Maryland Children’s Alliance.
Dr. Benjamin S. Carson will deliver the keynote address at the Maryland Children’s Alliance gala. Dr. Carson is a full professor of neurosurgery, oncology, plastic surgery, and pediatrics at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, and he has directed pediatric neurosurgery at the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center for over a quarter of a century. He became the inaugural recipient of a professorship dedicated in his name in May, 2008. He is now the Benjamin S. Carson, Sr., M.D. and Dr. Evelyn Spiro, R.N. Professor of Pediatric Neurosurgery.
One of Baltimore’s own – Fox 45 personality and motivational speaker, Bob Paff, has been tapped to be the Summit’s Master of Ceremonies.
To find out more about the sessions being offered at this event, or to register, click here.