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L.A. Small Business Owners Convene For Insight One20

Jacqueline Jackson |
March 16, 2013 | 2:44 p.m. PDT

Staff Reporter

Panelists Jane Pak, Karen Clark and Michelle Ruiz. (Jacqueline Jackson/Neon Tommy)
Panelists Jane Pak, Karen Clark and Michelle Ruiz. (Jacqueline Jackson/Neon Tommy)
City National Bank hosted the Insight One20 conference at the Los Angeles Convention Center Saturday for over 100 small business owners.

The conference began with Seth Godin, author of "The Icarus Deception," reminding conference attendees that the entrepreneurial spirit is an art and needs to be consistently cultivated for concrete results.

Small business owners left the keynote ready to visit 20 exhibitors including the Port of Los Angeles, merchandiser and promoter Public Identity, the city's Small Business Administration and many others. Afterward, the conference broke into multiple panel sessions, including Reaching Your Audience: The New Marketing Landscape and Business Intelligence: The Strategy of Long-Term Success.

Panelists, in the New Marketing Landscape section, including Jane Pak, the CEO of the city's chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners, stressed the importance of content marketing and social media strategy. Pak's counterpart Michelle Ruiz, Chief Strategist for Ruiz Strategies told attendees, "If Facebook can overturn a government, imagine what it can do for your business."

The era of new technology was key to the discussion as both Ruiz and Pak re-emphasized not just the use of social media but the strategy behind its role in daily business practices.

After the discussion, in a short interview with Neon Tommy, Pak stressed the importance of her USC Marshall Executive MBA education. "It completely changed my life," she said. "It was the best decision I ever made. It completely changed the way that I view and process events, which means it changed how I make decisions. It gave me a wider scope and view of the world. "  

Meanwhile, the Strategy of Long-Term Success panel focused on how to keep family start-ups afloat longevity. Ed Hart, director of Cal State Fullerton's Center for Family Business, reminded owners about the importance of planning ahead and keeping an open mind. "Five years from now, only 20 percent of what you do today for your business will be relevant." he said. "You can now do in 60 seconds what used to take four days."

To learn more about the Insight One20 conference, click here.

Reach Staff Reporter Jacqueline Jackson here



 

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