Los Angeles Times

There is no place in the world like Southern California.

The region is the nation’s leading small-business incubator and home to some of the country’s fastest-growing small enterprises. More than 4 million people work for companies with fewer than 500 employees. And our 370,000 home-based businesses are continuing the region’s long history of innovation and entrepreneurship.

In this marketplace of the new millennium, the key to success lies in working smarter, faster and better. And this is what the second annual Los Angeles Times Small Business Strategies Conference is all about.

This year’s conference gets at the heart of what today’s entrepreneurs want: reliable economic and industry forecasts, practical business advice, and insights into today’s best business practices. The 56 workshops and panels we’ve developed are being presented by successful small-business owners, financial and technology consultants, and expert marketers--people who’ve learned firsthand the meaning of smarter, faster, better.

To meet the needs of our growing Latino small-business segment, eight of our panels are being presented in Spanish by La Opinion. This is one more way The Times and La Opinion are working together to better serve the Southland’s Latino community.

This program is your guide to the benefits that the Small Business Strategies Conference offers. I encourage you to use it as a resource, both for the small-business information it provides and for the conference. For example, the guide highlights opportunities where you can speak with the editors, writers and columnists who bring you Wednesday’s Small Business pages and the Business section. In our exhibition hall, you can participate in our “Ask the Experts” and networking forums, or visit with exhibitors offering a variety of products and services specifically for small businesses.

The Small Business Strategies Conference is part of the Los Angeles Times’ commitment to providing the information you need to be more successful. Small businesses such as yours will help continue the region’s dynamic growth and play a vital role in transforming Southern California into the capital of the 21st century.

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Kathryn M. Downing

Publisher, Los Angeles Times