One of the best parts of my job at the chamber is getting the chance to learn about the variety of businesses located in Rhinelander. I get to learn about the products, services and great ideas that all of our local businesses have to offer. It is also not really fair for me to keep all that information to myself, so we offer a couple of opportunities each year for local businesses to get in front of thousands of potential customers and to help the community learn about the businesses that make up our economy and community.

Our first opportunity is coming up in just a couple weeks at the Northwoods Business Expo. For six years, the expo has given small businesses a chance to show off exactly what they offer. For this event, we partner with the Northwoods Entrepreneurs Club, which has an awesome reach to the entrepreneur market in the area. What I love about the Business Expo is that the cost and the smaller scale allows many of the small businesses in the area to participate. This year we’ll be hosting the event on Wednesday, Feb. 27 from 5 to 8 p.m. at James Williams Middle School in Rhinelander. The cost to participate is just $50. We are still taking registrations, so if you have a business of any size and are interested in participating, give the office a call for more details on the event.

The next opportunity to reach out to potential customers comes in March with the annual Hodag Home Show. Last year, more than 5,000 people walked through the doors of Rhinelander High School at some point during the weekend to check out all the booths and offerings of our local businesses. This event is larger scale compared to the Business Expo. We have close to 100 vendors participate in a variety of different fields and markets. There are different demonstrations lined up throughout the weekend as well, along with great food, kids’ activities and great door prizes. The chamber partners with NRG Media for this event, which will be held Saturday and Sunday, March 23 and 24. Registration is still open, so give us a call for more information if you are interested.

Both of these trade shows pull in plenty of people from the outside area, so as a business think about what you want to tell people about what you offer, the services you provide and why your business beats out your competition. This is your time to shine and brag, so take some time to think about how you want to portray your business. If you want some tips, tricks or to talk through some ideas, give me a call, I’d love to help.

And for all you community members and residents, both in Rhinelander and beyond, mark your calendars to attend both of these awesome events because I promise you’ll discover at least one business, product or service that you didn’t know existed in our area. We have a great base of businesses in the Rhinelander area and Northwoods, so take the chance to learn a little bit about how they can help you with whatever project or need you might have.

If you want more information on either of these two events, give us a call at (715) 365-7464 or check out our website at ExploreRhinelander.com.