UPS Global Small Business Forum Offers World of Opportunity to Atlanta Companies

, October 03, 2007

Event to Feature Expert Advice on Conducting International Business

To help Atlanta-area small businesses grow at home and abroad, UPS (NYSE:UPS) will conduct a Global Small Business Forum on Tuesday, Nov. 13, at the Georgia Aquarium in downtown Atlanta. In addition to providing expert advice on how small companies can capitalize on the opportunities of global trade, the event will honor the winners of the third UPS Best "Out-of-the-Box" Small Business Contest.

This year, UPS took its small business contest global in search of the world's most innovative small business and the Forum is designed to help small businesses gain practical advice on growing outside the United States. The half-day event will offer real-world advice about conducting business across borders from trade experts, including Israel Hernandez, Secretary for Trade Promotion and General Director of the U.S. & Foreign Commercial Service.

"Exporting represents an untapped growth opportunity for U.S. small businesses," said Kurt Kuehn, UPS senior vice president, worldwide sales and marketing. "With the most expansive international delivery portfolio in the industry, UPS makes exporting easy."

The event kicks off at 11:30 a.m., followed by a complementary luncheon and awards ceremony to honor the contest winners followed by several expert panel discussions on topics important to small companies. On the agenda are:

• A presentation and Q&A session with Hernandez on how small businesses can make the most of global trade.
• A panel moderated by Bo Burlingham, author and editor-at-large, Inc. magazine, featuring small businesses, including the 2007 winners of the "Out-of-the-Box" contest sharing their success stories.
• A panel on small business trends around the globe - based on the latest UPS Business Monitor surveys in Canada, Latin America and the United States - will be moderated by Laurel Delaney, president and founder, Global TradeSource, Ltd.

Throughout the Forum, participants will have the chance to visit an Expert Expo that will feature exhibits displaying the full range of UPS solutions for small businesses as well as exhibits by Forum partners IBM and Inc. magazine. The U.S. Commercial Service also will have an exhibit. The Expert Expo is designed to offer advice and to provide networking opportunities for local small-business owners.

The Forum will end with a reception at 5 p.m.