During one week last month in Miami, I participated in two events that were quite different but actually similar in showing how Americans do business. The first was a VIP luncheon at the Rusty Pelican, a beautiful restaurant on Biscayne Bay with views of the sea, cruise ships, and nearby islands in every direction.
The Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce hosted 34 ambassadors who participated in the US State Department’s Experience America program. The idea is to give the ambassadors a taste of life outside of Washington D.C. which like capitals everywhere is focused only on government.
So 34 ambassadors – 13 from Europe led by the German ambassador who spoke on behalf of the group; 7 from Africa; 6 from East Asia; 5 from South America; 2 from Central Asia; and 1 from the Middle East – were assigned to tables among 200 business people from Miami and other parts of Florida who paid US$ 65-75 to attend.
After eight years in the UAE, I had hoped to meet some representatives from the region, but there was no one from North Africa, India, Pakistan, or Iran, and there was only Oman from the Gulf. Perhaps it was related to the weather. It was 25C that day and gloriously sunny, quite different than in Washington. I suspect warm weather in the winter is more important to Europeans from cold countries.
I sat between the Ambassador of the Togolese Republic and the Ambassador of the Republic of Singapore. They were interested in the business climate in Miami, but came at it from different standpoints with their countries at different economic stages.
Later I found the Ambassador of Bosnia and Herzegovina – one of seven women among the 34 ambassadors – and chatted with her in Bosnian, something I get few chances to do these days. She’s from Sarajevo where relatives from my father’s side of the family live.
Three days later I was at the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) table at the Small Business Expo in Miami Beach. Unlike the executives from large companies who attended lunch with the ambassadors, here were many individual entrepreneurs who paid nothing.
The ones with larger companies did pay for their own booth to exhibit their products and programs. The organizers collect money from them, but they also have to provide people to come to the booths, which is why entrance is free.
At least 4000 people showed up between 10 am and 5 pm, the vast majority already running their own companies and the rest thinking about starting a business. The Miami Chapter of NAWBO was there to collect members and business cards.
NAWBO colleague Heather Waldron and I gathered something like 150 cards from people interested in the organization and found one woman who filled out the membership application form. From now on they will receive weekly email blasts announcing NAWBO events. Some may join eventually, and others will attend events occasionally, all welcome as we grow the Miami Chapter.
As a nonprofit, NAWBO was relegated to the Business Success Pavilion along with similar groups. We were given a table, two chairs, and a half-page ad in the show catalogue for free by the organizers. Experience has shown them that nonprofits attract entrepreneurs, and it makes sense to have some at a small business event.
We weren’t there to talk about our own companies, but the reality is that once you engage in a conversation with someone, you exchange business cards, and ours are for Alcat Communications International for me and Keyes Company for Heather.
In Miami, in America, it’s all business all the time. How much you spend to do business is up to you.
Diplomats and business guests mingle at Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce luncheon.
Photo by Korey Davis, NPLG.
By Alma Kadragic
