The Small Business Expo brought its 2026 Los Angeles show to the Pasadena Convention Center on Tuesday, September 30, 2026, filling the exhibit hall with founders, vendors and industry experts for a full day of networking, workshops and deal-making. Presented by Verizon Business, the expo is one of the longest-running touring events for small business owners in the country, and the Los Angeles stop drew a packed floor from morning to late afternoon.
David’s Guide was on the floor covering the day. Here is what stood out.
The floor was built for meeting people. The expo’s signature Get Dotted system color-coded attendees by industry so you could spot your people across the room, and the Industry Meet-Ups area ran targeted networking sessions throughout the day, covering franchises, banking and finance, social media and marketing, web services and IT, healthcare and HR, hospitality and travel, art and entertainment, and professional services. Speed networking sessions paired attendees for quick one-on-one, two-minute meetings.
The AI Experiment Phase Is Over
If there was one idea that defined the floor, it was that the AI experiment phase is over. Session after session made the same case from different angles: the tools are here, the playbooks exist, and the businesses that win will be the ones that implement.
The AI track ran all day. Ramon Lopez of Amazon Web Services opened the morning with The Small Business AI Playbook: How to Put AI to Work This Week, focused on solving real problems instead of chasing shiny tools, with live demos and a framework owners could start using that day. Iddo Gino of Gamut followed with Beyond ChatGPT: The Next Generation of AI for Small Business, a look at task-based personal AI assistants that manage customer follow-ups, handle invoices and organize the day. Alex Young of Xantrion led AI Practices That Deliver Results, pushing attendees past experimentation toward high-impact use cases that streamline operations and improve decision-making. Jonathan Bunce of Alleco Partners asked the uncomfortable question in Is Your AI Investment One of the 95% That Will Fail?, walking through why most AI pilots never earn their keep and the framework business leaders need before the next dollar goes in. Later in the day, Kev O’Sullivan of JK took on The Right Role for AI in Your Marketing, Ryan Wenger of Inhouse.AI covered How to Use AI to Handle Your Business’s Legal Work, and Ritu Thakur of Smart Tech Inc presented Practical AI for Visibility, Engagement, and Customer Connection, aimed at solopreneurs and small teams.
The through line was practicality. Nobody on stage was selling a vision of the distant future. They were selling checklists.
Marketing and Content Take the Stage
Marketing and content had their own strong showing. Jourdan Guyton of Verizon Business opened the afternoon with From Hustle to Flow: Simplifying Your Marketing Strategy, about building a sustainable content system that runs without burnout. Guyton returned for the featured keynote, Your Content Should Be Making Sales: How to Turn Attention into Customers, where she broke down how small businesses can turn attention into a growth engine built for leads, sales and real revenue. Nicole Denise Phillip of CoAgency led Behind the Post: Content that Converts, arguing that visibility without conversion is just noise. Crystal Houston of Llab Marketing promised a full 90-day marketing strategy in 30 minutes flat in her 30 Minute CMO session. Daniel Adodf of Dyno Creative made the case for narrative in The Power of Storytelling in Business. Melissa Leal of Textellent taught The ABCs of SMS: How to Grow Your Business Using Text Messages, turning the humble text message into a revenue channel. And Marie Incontrera of Incontrera Consulting coached attendees to become Media Ready: Craft an Elevator Pitch That Gets You Press, Podcasts, and More.
Money, Tax and Funding
The money sessions were packed. Totam Pham of the Internal Revenue Service led Tax Tips for Entrepreneurs Starting and Operating a Business. Janse Monfort of Gusto unpacked S Corp Election: What It Means, Requires and Unlocks. Kevin Brunner of The Q Companies presented Tax Free You for Business Owners, on proactive tax planning, installment sales and deferring capital gains. Lucas Thomas of RHM Real Financial Planning covered Wealth Reallocation: How to Move Your Money Tax-Free. Yusef Muhammad of SCORE led Unlock Powerful Funding Strategies for Business and Real Estate, walking real estate investors through creative financing. Lucius C. Davis III of the Franchise Tax Board explained the Common Forms of Business Ownership in California, from sole proprietorships to LLCs.
Legal and Operations
Legal and operations got serious attention too. CJ Fiorell of Beverly Hills Legal Services LLC taught Protect Your Business Assets From Sue-Happy Lawyers. Michelle Serna of TruNorth Dynamics showed how Disconnected Tech Is Costing You More Than You Think, and how to make Dynamics, Power Platform and Copilot work as one engine. Ethan Starke of Ethan Starke LLC exposed The Hidden Bottlenecks Slowing Your Business Down. Anca Enache of 3P Impact Consulting warned that Disruptions Don’t Check Your Calendar, with a one-page continuity plan teams can actually use. Jack Shauh of VRAY looked ahead with How Mobile Wallet Payments Will Dominate an AI-Driven World.
The People Side of Business
The people side of business was not neglected. David Moore of OneDigital presented Solving the People Puzzle: Turning Your Biggest Asset Into Your Competitive Advantage. Aimee Cruz of PeopleKind HR covered How to Keep Great Employees and Stay Out of Trouble, from hiring to compliance. Jessica Hawthorne-Castro of Hawthorne Advertising linked culture to growth in How Strong Leadership Drives Sustainable Business Growth. Shetli Rastogi of HankeTom Group taught Customers’ Hearts and Minds: Build a System to Know, Win and Keep Them. Bryan Smith of First Orion answered Why Customers Ignore Your Calls, And How to Fix It. Jessie Rios of New York Life Insurance walked through Life in Business: 3 Areas of Business You Can’t Afford to Overlook. And Tanya Memme of Success Unlocked, who also appeared at Booth 541, taught The First Ten Seconds: How to Capture Attention and Keep It, on the three habits that hold attention on camera and across a table.
Shark Tank Stars Headline the Keynote Theatre
The keynote theatre’s other featured presentation was Shark Tank Success Stories: Behind the Pitch, a candid conversation with founders who turned bold ideas into booming businesses after landing deals on the show. The panel featured Nicole Denise, Brand Intelligence Strategist and CEO of CoAgency, Robbie Cabral, Founder and CEO of BenjiLock, and Mabel Frias, Co-Founder and CEO of Luna Magic, sharing the journeys, lessons and strategies behind their success.
Built for Networking
Off the stages, the floor was engineered for meeting people. The expo’s signature Get Dotted system assigned every attendee a color-coded dot by industry, turning the whole hall into a visual networking map. The Industry Meet-Ups area ran targeted sessions all day: franchises, banking and insurance, social media and marketing, web services and IT, eCommerce and retail, professional services, healthcare and HR, hospitality and travel, government and nonprofits, and art and entertainment. Speed networking sessions paired Silver, Gold, Platinum and VIP badge holders for rapid one-on-one meetings, and the Business Card Exchange let attendees market themselves to the whole room.
Sponsors and the 2026 Tour
The sponsor roster read like a who’s who of small business services. Verizon Business presented the show. American Express and GEICO Business Insurance anchored the platinum tier. The gold tier included Adobe, Amazon, GotPrint.com, PressRelease.com and SmartMode AI. Silver sponsors included BMO, CoAgency, Gusto, NEWITY, T-Mobile for Business, TD SYNNEX, Textellent and ZOHO. Partners included the IRS, SCORE, The Epoch Times and NTD News.
The 2026 tour continues with NYC Fall on October 15, Austin on October 29, Dallas on November 4, Phoenix on November 18, Houston on December 2, and Atlanta on December 16. More info at thesmallbusinessexpo.com.
Photos: David Christopher Lee for David’s Guide.
