By Mark Ginocchio, Staff Writer
January 30, 2008,
Stamford Advocate

For new business looking to network, it's to market, to market for them.

Nearly 70 exhibiting companies and organizations, and more than 300 registered visitors attended the Stamford Chamber of Commerce's annual marketplace. The event, held Monday at the Hilton Stamford Hotel, was the ideal venue for Garrett Noble, owner of Noble Salon, to meet the city's large business community.

"We just opened our business, so it's important for us to become engaged in the community," said Noble, who opened his salon last summer on High Ridge Road. "We're here to get connected. We have to rely on their business to get up and running."

Companies and business owners can either set up an exhibition table to promote their products, or play the role of spectator, walking the hotel conference room to meet potential clients and partners.

It's one of the chamber's premier business-to-business networking events, said Barbara Seiter, chamber vice president.

"After 15 years, we're still going strong," Seiter said. "This is still a great opportunity for businesses to meet one another and network."

Despite economic uncertainty in lower Fairfield County and nationally, companies were not deterred from attending and exhibiting this year, she said.

The marketplace maintained its traditional 50 percent to 60 percent retention of exhibitors from the year before and had at least 50 people walk-up to attend the event in its opening hours Monday.

After attending a previous show as a guest, Katherine Craig, sales and marketing development manager for the Lloyd Group, a business and information technology service provider for small and midsize organizations, said it was a good idea for her company to become an exhibitor.

"It builds awareness," she said. "It's a good opportunity to make contact with potential business partners."

After running an office in Manhattan for more than 10 years, Lloyd came to Stamford to become part of lower Fairfield County's growing financial services sector - a pool of potential clients for Craig's company, she said.

Businesses who have had roots in Stamford for decades but are new to the chamber, also appreciated the opportunity to exhibit.

"You get more done exhibiting on a floor than you would knocking on doors any day," said Marcus Sweeney, manager of business development for Robustelli Corporate Services, a Stamford business since 1965 that makes promotional products.