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Louisville Local Business Expo 2018

Louisville Local Business Expo

An all local and independent business showcase.

Thursday, January 25, 2018
1:00pm - 6:00pm

Mellwood Art Center, Picasso Room | 1860 Mellwood Ave

Free entry with business card.
Gift bag quantities limited, details below.

Interested in a booth? Email Allison for more info.

EVENT HIGHLIGHTS

12:00pm - 1:00pm:

* Members Only Lunch, brought to you by Snookies' Kookies

* LIBA Board Elections

1:00pm - 6:00pm:

* Business Expo Booths

* TED-Style Talks (info below)

* The Weird & Wonderful Auction

4:30pm:

* Networking Happy Hour, brought to you by
Real Tek Solutions and Unified Technologies

* The Weird & Wonderful Auction concludes at 5:30pm

Make it your business to buy local.

Thanks to our Gold Sponsor, Total Office Products & Service!

We have all become more aware of the reasons to buy local – and they apply just as much to our business purchases as our personal ones. This event will give attendees the chance to ‘walk the talk’ and find quality, local vendors for their business purchases. After all, a market shift of just 10% to local independent businesses would retain an additional $416 million in our regional economy, which helps all of our businesses!

Win great prizes.

Many of our booths will register you to win amazing items when you stop by their booths. (WAKY Radio is giving away a new car in 2018!)

LIBA’s Vendor Bender game will get you entered to win a 'Sip-ly Local' package, which includes Elijah Craig Small Batch from Heaven Hill, White Noise from Old 502, $50 in Louisville Originals gift cards, and $50 in LIBA eGift Cards. Pick up your game card at registration!

Check this out.

Thanks to Hatfield Media for video and production efforts on a LIBA membership video, showcasing the Louisville Local Business Expo.

TED-Style talks from:

1:30pm - From I, to They, to We: the Slow Train to Community

Drawing from his work as an author, songwriter, teacher, and nonprofit Deputy Director, Joe Manning will discuss what he has learned about how the creative impulse can lead the way to both personal discovery and significant community engagement.

2:30pm - What Spends Here Stays Here:Independent Businesses and
Community Development

Derek Peebles is trained in the principles of Asset Based Community Development, an approach that maintains you can’t have enduring economic and social change by building on a community’s brokenness. You must begin with a community’s strengths. Entrepreneurship and independent businesses are one of those strengths. Derek is the Director of Economics of Compassion Initiative and Managing Partner for a small business consulting firm in Cincinnati, OH. Derek led a workshop for LIBA last fall entitled: What Spends Here Stays Here: Developing West Louisville's Economy from Within. LIBA is looking forward to working on further events with him in 2018 as well - this is your chance to learn about this revolutionary model of community development.

3:30pm - Surviving & Thriving in the Age of Amazon

With a focus on retail, this panel of local and independent success stories have been competing with online retailers for years. Hear from these longtime independent retailers about successful practices and how they position their business to compete against the online giants. Panelists include Ben Jones [Better Days Records], Summer Auerbach [Rainbow Blosson Natural Food Markets & Wellness Center], Robbie Gibson [Belmar Floral Shop] and Sarah Rowlette [Kentucky Retail Federation].

The Local Love Gift Bag

Register to attend NOW and you'll get a Local Love Gift Bag (free entry with business card, bag quantities limited). Gift bag includes local goodies from Heck Yes Magnets, Louisville Tea Co., Reuse & Baby Lou, Soapman & Son and from our Expo sponsors.

SOAPMAN & SON

The Weird & Wonderful Auction - Letting the Bidding Begin!

Check-out the following WEIRD and WONDERFUL auction items and experiences available at the Louisville Local Business Expo.
Silent Auction bidding will begin at 1:00P on Thursday, January 25th, bidding will close promptly at 5:30P.
Attend the Louisville Local Business Expo Happy Hour to hear more about the weird and wonderful auction experiences and place your bids!

The Singing Financial Advisor

Lance Minnis:
LIBA Board Member | Commonwealth Financial Advisors, LLC

Many of you may not know that Lance Minnis is also a professional musician and excellent singer. He’s also an instructor at the Louisville Folk School. He’s ready to go out on a special singing telegram mission of your request – in crazy costume or as a serious singer. Have him come to your friend’s birthday party, or just your company staff meeting to jazz things up.

Purple Passion: Louisville City FC Immersion

Jordan Clemons: LIBA Board Member | Langley Capital Management

Louisville City FC is H-O-T and Jordan Clemons is here to teach you the rules and nuances of soccer. He’s a fan who’s attended many games as they work their way up the ranks of the national scene. In this experience, Jordan will walk you and a friend through the basics of soccer (we all think soccer is cool, but after all we were raised on basketball, so a little technical help is appreciated!) THEN, you get a pair of premium season tickets for yourself and a friend to Louisville City FC – which includes amazing seats at 17 home games,two exclusive fan scarves, discounts on merch and more!

Get Gonzo’ed!

Lauren Hendricks: LIBA Board Member | a+h marketing

One of Louisville’s weirdest celebrities is Hunter S. Thompson, who inspired Gonzo journalism and lately, the GonzoFest. Lauren Hendricks is one of the organizers of GonzoFest, and in this unique experience you and a guest will receive two tickets to the GonzoFest Louisville VIP event (worth $50 each), taking place on the eve of GonzoFest Louisville, Friday, April 13, at the 800 Building, an autographed copy of "Stories I Tell Myself: Growing Up with Hunter S. Thompson", a memoir by Juan Thompson, the only son of Hunter S. Thomson, and of course, a copy of one of Hunter’s own books, “The Great Shark Hunt- Gonzo Papers, Volume 1, Strange Tales from a Strange Time."

Weird and Wonderful Life

Jennifer Blair: Excavive Coaching & Consulting | Coach • Consultant • Speaker • Author

There are many things in your life that you’d like to change, but there are also lots of things that are unique and inspirational. Jennifer Blair is the owner of Excavive Coaching & Consulting, and author of The True You: Tools to Excavate, Explore and Evolve. Jennifer is ready to take you through four powerful hour-long sessions to excavate and inspire you into an authentic, passionate, and maybe sometimes a little weird life. And, you'll also receive a copy of her book.

Shaken, Not Stirred: Be a Master of Mixology

Mendy Frohlich: LIBA Administrative & Events | cherryredevents

Your friends will all be impressed as you craft the perfect cocktail for them at your next social gathering. Mendy Frohlich has tended bar for over 20 years, in Austin, Chicago, NYC, and Louisville. She also owns cherryredevents, where she has been running the bar concessions for music festivals, such as Forecastle, Abbey Road on the River, and Brewfest for over 10 years. She knows the ins and outs, and all the little touches that make a basic drink into a crafted cocktail. In this experience, you and up to 3 of your friends will have a private lesson from Mendy, and you can choose the subject: Classic Cocktails that have stood the test of time, or Holiday Treats so you can make all your events festive (can schedule later in the year). Class can take place at cherryredevents or at your home – just be sure you don’t have any plans afterwards since you and your guests will be enjoying all the drinks you have crafted!

Meet The Brewer Beer Tour & Mug Club Membership

Patrick Schmidt: LIBA Board Member | Tilford, Dobbins and Schmidt PLLC

Everyone who knows him agrees that Patrick Schmidt knows his way around the local beer scene, and with this experience you and a friend will get the VIP treatment as Patrick takes you to visit local breweries AND meet the brewers in person. Visit Apocalypse, Against The Grain, Great Flood, Gravely, and Milewide - enjoy beer at each stop! PLUS you’ll extend your experience throughout the year as one of the founding members of Gravely’s OG Mug Club (worth $100), which gets you your own OG mug with engraved membership number, $ off pints all year, special bottle access and members only party, among other member benefits!

The Ergonomics Sensei

Chris Vessels: LIBA Board Member | Total Office Products & Service

Do you leave the office with stiff legs, sore neck or maybe a tight back? This package will bring you Chris Vessels, from Total Office Products & Service, into your office to assess your work space arrangement. He’s been an expert in office design since the days of the fax machine. You’ll have $500 to use in a Custom Office Ergonomics Package, and Chris will help you identify and order a chair, a sit-stand desk, or accessories, etc. that will help improve your work productivity with a work space that works better for YOU!

THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS