Manta.com to round out Tester’s next Small Business workshop

Online marketing experts to share ‘tricks of the trade’

(BILLINGS, Mont.) – Senator Jon Tester today announced that the small business marketing website Manta.com will take part in his upcoming Small Business Opportunity Workshop in Billings on Friday, July 22.

Manta is an online community created to bring together business owners to connect, share ideas and ask questions of each other.  Manta’s mission is to grow small businesses throughout America. 

Manta President and CEO Pamela Springer will offer a perspective on marketing and branding a small business. Springer will take questions from participants and share her expertise on growing and marketing businesses. 

Tester’s eighth Small Business Opportunity Workshop will feature keynote speaker Karen Puckett, Chief Operating Officer of CenturyLink, a telecommunications company that now owns Qwest.

The workshop will also feature two additional panels:

Made in Montana Success Stories– will feature four of Montana’s rising business stars:
•    Becky Reno heads City Brew coffee, a network of ten coffee shops throughout Montana.
•    Jolene Rieck is the principal landscape architect at Peaks to Plains Design in Billings.
•    Sarah Calhoun founded Red Ant Pants in White Sulphur Springs, a company that specializes in workpants for women.
•    Kris Carpenter owns Sanctuary Salon and Spas in Billings.
          
Access to Capital – will feature top lending experts in Montana: 
•    Sarah Fitzgerald is the Bozeman Loan Officer and Market Manager for the Montana Community Development Corporation.
•    Pam Doherty is a Commercial Loan Officer at Stockman Bank.
•    Matt Jones is the head of the Montana Rural Development office.
•    Liz Marchi is the Fund Coordinator at the Frontier Angel Fund.
•    John Klaman is a senior manager at the Small Business Administration.
•    Stuart R. Leidner is the Executive Director at the Montana Women’s Business Center.

The workshop will be at Montana State University-Billings’ downtown campus, from 8 a.m. until 1 p.m.

The event is free and open to the public.  Montanans interested in attending are encouraged to RSVP at tester.senate.gov/workshop.