Small Manufacturer's Advantage (SMA) is a partnership program providing integrated support to small manufacturers across Colorado by leveraging the coordination of key strategic organizations such as Manufacturer's Edge, the Colorado Small Business Development Center Network (SBDC), the State of Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT), the World Trade Center (WTC), and the Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC). The result is a unique and powerful synthesis of expertise and resources designed to help Colorado manufacturers succeed across all stages of the organizational life cycle.

Funding is provided in three parts; Manufacturer's Edge, the State of Colorado through the Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT), and a small cash contribution from the participating manufacturer served by the program. SMA leverages state and federal funds to bring industry experts to provide coaching, consultation, and/or training based on the challenges each company is facing. This expertise could be in business finance, marketing, operational excellence, growth services, export assistance, and beyond.

Does my company qualify?

• Are you a manufacturer?
• Is your company located in Colorado?
• Do you have fewer than 20 full-time employees?
• Can you demonstrate support and commitment to implementing recommendations in order to maximize results and improve your business?
• Are you willing and able to report impact data to Manufacturer's Edge and SBDC?

How do I get started?

Manufacturers aren't the only ones, though, who can host MFG DAY events. Lots of technical colleges, for example, hold educational fairs for their students and invite local manufacturers to set up booths or speak about their operations.

To learn more about the possibilities, read the blog post, "Types of MFG DAY Events"

2. Download the Event Planning Kit

Each year, MFG DAY updates its event planning kit, or "Host Toolkit" In it, you'll find practical tips for organizing your event, including suggestions such as forming a planning group, sending out formal invites, and scripting your event to insure your audience is engaged.

Most of this stuff you probably already know, but the Host Toolkit provides you with a useful checklist and a series of templates designed to make the planning process a bit easier - and to make your MFG DAY event a success.

To download the Host Toolkit, simply follow this link.

3. Create a Host Account on mfgday.com

Even if you haven't worked out all the details for your MFG DAY event, you should take a minute to create a Host account on mfgday.com.

First of all, it will give you access to a dashboard that includes planning and promotional resources. Second, it will give you a chance to preview the event registration process so you can gather all the information necessary to register your event.

Create a Host Account by visiting the registration page.

4. Register Your Event

Once you've created a Host account, you can use the "Event Management" tab in your Host dashboard to add your event to mfgday.com. Click on the "Add Event" button to start the three-step process.

Use the "Add Event" button in your Host dashboard to start the event registration process.

In the first section of the event registration process, you'll be asked for basic event info, such as the date, time, address, and type of even you plan to hold.

In the second section, you'll designate how people will be able to register for your event. They can do it through mfgday.com or via a third-party site such as Eventbrite. Alternatively, you can choose to make your event open to everyone without registration - or to designate it private.

Lastly, you'll be given the option of enhancing your event listing by adding your logo, your website URL, and links to any social media profiles. If you don't have any of this information available the first time you run through the event creation process, you can always save your work and come back later to update your event listing.

For a more detailed description of the event registration process, read "Register Your Event in Minutes"

 

5. Publish Your Event

Once you're satisfied with the information you've provided about your event, you can publish it to mfgday.com.

This will add your event to the map, as well as create a landing page for your event on the site. If you plan to promote your event, you can use this page's URL to share information and drive registration.

By publishing your event, you'll create a landing page for it on mfgday.com.