Sales-focused Business Events
The story behind Small Business Expos.

Business Expos
ABOUT PAULA BRAND
Paula Brand, Founder, has over 28 years of event and industry development experience across Queensland and Australia in 12 industry sectors. She is a small business advocate for the invisible businesses – mobile, micro, online, homebased businesses that are one third of the small business community. The Small Business Expo team is managed by an Advisory Board and has an office on the Gold Coast with a team of 13.
Local businesses are the cornerstone of our community, and we must work together to help and support each other to grow.
The aim of the Business and Jobs Expos is for economic outcomes, employment outcomes and educational/learning outcomes as well as to build collaboration and hope for businesses and displaced people due to the impacts of the ongoing Covid pandemic.
In Australia today, the market sector features approximately 150 trade shows each year. Very few trade shows (except for franchise shows) are focused on broad (often neglected) small business sectors, and even fewer on small and medium sized business. And post covid, only 5% of expos ran in Australia – we successfully delivered our program to support local businesses over the last two Covid years.
These one-day “pop-up” events to enable business owners to meet, connect, learn, network and gain expert advice, and discover profitable business ideas.
What the Small Business Expos have achieved in seven years:
- 5000 small business owners have exhibited
- The largest local business to business sales focused expo program in Southeast Queensland
- We work with 50 sponsors each year to put on the expo program including Councils, business member-based networking groups, Chambers of Commerce and businesses – we work collaboratively to support local businesses.
- 380 top speakers have delivered workshops.
- We have delivered our ‘’How to Sell from an Exhibition Stand’ Workshops to over 3000 local business owners.
- Supported 30 charities. Our main charity is Rotary.
- Over 28,000 visitors have attended.
- We donated $70,000 of free stands for struggling businesses in 2020 when we ran our expos during Covid
- Supported by all levels of Government
- Founder, Paula Brand was awarded an International Stevie Award in 2019 for Small Business Champion and also the 2019 Women in Business Small Business Champion – Finalist
At the Business and Jobs Expos, business owners and professionals can
- Develop business leads and new customers, build brand awareness and expand business opportunities.
- Discover new ideas and new technology to help solve business owners’ challenges.
- Gain invaluable industry knowledge and insights into larger markets both in Australia and internationally.
- Network with industry peers and connect with suppliers, service providers, industry experts and Government specialist departments.
- Connect with potential venture capitalists and investors to potentially help expand businesses.
- Seek information from job support agencies and related businesses as well as employment opportunities
CHECK OUT OUR EXPOS FROM 2021
2021 Brisbane Business and Jobs Expo
2021 Brisbane Business and Jobs Expo
2021 Gold Coast Business and Jobs Expo
Collaborative Marketplaces
Business Expos
opportunity to help business owners
About the Small Business Expos
For those in business and seeking ways to generate a greater level of income, the Small Business Expos provide the opportunity help business owners to learn and increase the size and revenues for their business.
Small Business Expos Locations
- Brisbane
- Redlands/Logan
- Moreton Bay/North Brisbane
- Gold Coast
- Brisbane West/Ipswich
- Toowoomba
There are no better events in South East Queensland that provide the opportunity to talk face-to-face with contemporaries and fellow business owners to end users across a broad range of business opportunities.
The Small Business Expos are vital business-to-business expos for small, medium and large businesses and brand owners.
The South East Queensland Business Expos recognize the many challenges that business owners face, from increased competition in Australia and internationally from online sources.
Connect and Communication
With more than 8,000 businesses connecting each year and increasing steadily each year, our communications partnerships enable us to reach more than 66,000 business professionals across South East Queensland.
Our reach is in excess of 400,000 on social media & continues to grow each year.
The Small Business Expos has been embraced by the media and in 2018 was sponsored by Channel 9 and Channel Ten Regional Television Networks as well as Southern Cross Austereo Radio stations and in 2019 by 96.5 Family FM.
1022 exhibitors participated in the Small Business Expos in 2019 and more than 8,000 attendees (majority business owners) connected with other business owners resulting in $7.5 million in business leads.
We did not give up in Covid. Nine expos were delivered over the past two Covid years, connecting 3500 business owners together.
It was decided in 2022 to host two large expos, Gold Coast and Brisbane. The Gold Coast Expo consisted of a record 305 expo stands with 1200 attending.

Giving Back to the Community
In 2018,
Small Business Expos donated to 11 charities and continues to grow as it “gives back to the community”. In 2019, 20 charities were supported. We work with Rotary Groups across South East Queensland and have raised $10,000 in funds for their community programs.
The founder of Small Business Expos
Paula Brand is the CEO of Small Business Expos
Paula is an advocate for ‘invisible” small businesses (mobile, micro, online and homebased) which make up one third of the small business community.
With 24 years of event and industry development experience across Queensland and the rest of Australia, she has won a series of industry awards:
- WINNER 2019 International Stevie Award – Small Business Champion
- WINNER 2019 Gold Coast Women in Business Award – Small Business Chamption
- WINNER 2017 Ambassador Small Business-Homebased Business Community – International Women’s Day – Women at Work Awards
- WINNER 2017 Awardee of Merit – Gold Coast Women in Business Awards – Community Category
- WINNER 2016 Empowered Biz Mums – Leadership Award
The Small Business Expos Advisory Board
Small Business Expos has a four-member Advisory Board to assist with branding, strategy, business operations, crisis management and policy advice. Lean more about each member by clicking the profiles below.


