On the first day of spring, about 380 people packed into the newly-refurbished vault room of Sydney Town Hall to witness the official launch of the eleventh annual Small Business September.

NSW Small Business Minister Frank Terenzini joined with City of Sydney Lord Mayor, Clover Moore, and broadcaster David Koch and a panel of guests to mark the launch. 

With over 500 events being held across NSW, the 2010 Small Business September is set to maintain its status as Australia’s biggest and longest-running collection of events focusing on small business development.

The month of statewide workshops, seminars and webinars address a range of important issues for the small business sector including leadership, marketing, cashflow management, information technology and much more.

Each event is designed to help small businesses operate more effectively in an increasingly competitive market.

The theme of Small Business September 2010 is ‘Connect for Profit’ - the fresh ideas on offer during the program will allow the State’s thousands of business operators to extend their business networks, and update their knowledge and skills.

Morning TV presenter David Koch, of Channel Seven's popular morning breakfast program, Sunrise and host of the leading small business show - Kochie's Business Builder, moderated a debate on the pros and cons of twenty-first century marketing. 

The panel of six marketing experts discussed the topic ‘Man vs Machine’ on whether technology should drive business marketing.

This year’s Small Business September is a ‘green’ month with eight events taking steps to be completely carbon neutral.

Small Business September has more than a dozen sponsors and features major seminars and workshops including:

• 14 September – ‘Small Green and Clean’ – Using sustainable business practices to save money and drive growth, Darling Harbour
• 15 September – ‘Flying Solo’ – Full day of workshops, presentations and exhibits with some of Australia’s top small business specialists, Eveleigh
• 18 September – ‘The Young Entrepreneurs Unconvention’ – Australia’s top 18-35 year-old entrepreneurs and executives come together to challenge the status quo, UTS Business School, Haymarket
• 22 September – ‘Digital Day’ – Using technology to its capacity to run a successful business, Terrigal.

For details on small business events across NSW, visit www.smallbusinessmonth.nsw.gov.au call the Small Business September Hotline on 1300 661 539.