By: Shimmy Blum. “What can exhibiting at the Expo do for your business?” Exhibitor Name: ZDH Consulting, based in Beit Shemesh, Israel
Exhibited at: 2014 Parnassah Expo
Business service: Web design, graphic design, promotional videos, telemarketing, app development, online marketing, and data entry /outsourcing
Unique selling point: A wide range of business services at one address; American quality services at offshore low pricing.
Representative: Senior Director Yaakov Hecht, a Cleveland native who made Aliyah to Eretz Yisroel after high school.
What made you exhibit at Parnassah Expo? “We never attended any business conferences or expos; didn’t think it was effective to grow our business. We read about the Expo in an English language Jewish magazine, figured that we’d give it a try. We had no idea what to expect: How would black hatters respond to two Israelis with kippot serugot and khaki pants? How much business do they do anyway?”
What was going on at your booth at the Expo? “There were five of us at the booth. We literally didn’t have a minute to sit. We ran out of flyers. We lost our voices. After the first day of the Expo, we had to run to WalMart to replenish some of our supplies.”
How was the Expo aftermath? “This was the first time we ever did any outreach to the U.S. market and the response was overwhelming. Frankly, we lost some potential business right after the Expo because we simply couldn’t keep up with the amount of Americans who were interested in our services.”
How did this affect your long term business? “We got dozens of valuable U.S. based clients, and many of them referred others to us too. Realizing how much potential we had at to grow in the U.S., we changed our entire business model.
“We decided to create a unique franchising model, which will allow anyone to become trained and equipped to run their own marketing firm. Our team in Israel will do all the work, while the franchisee just needs to make the sale, and leave the rest to us. This allows the franchisee to earn a very respectable living in America, while supporting our employees in Eretz Yisroel! It’s truly a win-win.”
Any lessons from this experience? “Parnassah Expo really opened an entire new world for us. Previously, we didn’t comprehend the power of networking. We believed that our growth potential came only from marketing and satisfying clients. Once we experienced how much success personal networking can add, we began attending other conferences and B2B events, both in Israel and the United States.
“We’ve baruch Hashem seen success at those events, but none of them compared to the networking at Parnassah Expo. The people we met there were exceptionally serious and motivated. They were like, ‘Hey what are you doing? Let’s grow together!’”
What are your plans for the 2015 Parnassah Expo? “Our team is looking forward to joining again – big time. It’s a major sacrifice to leave our children and business behind for a week – but we feel like it’s well worth the investment for the long term.
“We look forward to introducing our new franchising opportunities at the upcoming Expo. Our T-shirts will read, ‘Ask me about running your own business’ We have no doubt that many great people would like to discuss that…”