After two years of online events, the Ealing Business Expo will be partially back in-person when it returns across two days in early March.

Over Monday, March 7 and Tuesday, March 8, local groups, services, businesses and individuals will have the chance to connect, swap ideas and learn from experts as they share their stories for success.

The first day will take place online via Zoom, followed by day two at the DoubleTree by Hilton hotel in Ealing Common (2-8 Hanger Lane W5 3HN).

It is free to attend the Ealing Business Expo as a visitor, and exhibition stands are still available. Both can be booked online via an Eventbrite page.

For more information, contact the event director Carlene Bender at [email protected].

'Biggest and busiest business event in the borough'

Carlene said: "At Ealing Business Expo 2022 we've decided to ditch the kind of one-way flow of information that we had to suffer through during two years of lockdown while we were busy trying to hide from our computer cameras.

"This year we really want our event to be focused on engagement and interaction, for business people in Ealing to be drawn into the various discussions, with themes like 'best tips for crowdfunding', 'franchising is not just for fast food', and 'memories of the businesswomen who shook our worlds'.

"This year is the seventh version of the Expo, and thankfully we've always been able to count on support from Ealing Council – enabling us to still boldly claim to be the 'biggest and busiest business event in the borough'. Ealing Council's input recognises the economical value of the several thousands of online and home-based businesses in the borough who keep things ticking over, referring business to one another and outsourcing whenever possible to local suppliers.

"These are the people who show up to the Ealing Business Expo to work on building up our Ealing business community, and we'd love to welcome even more of them on 7 and 8 March."

In the past, hundreds of people attended the Expo from across London – and many businesses and groups opt to have an exhibition stand.

If you do not have your own business but have simply dreamed of starting one, you are still encouraged to attend as a visitor to get advice and be inspired.