WS Chronicle

By Busta Brown

Well connected, confident, brilliant, creative, caring, hilarious and humble, are just a few words to describe my Person of the Week. If you want to get the word out and grow your business, then Reginald McCaskill is your man. For seven years he’s helped hundreds of the top minority businesses in the Triad become extremely successful. So, if you’re looking to grow your business, Reginald has already done the groundwork for you. 

The 8th annual Triad Minority and Women’s Business Expo is where you need to be. Every year thousands of people from all over the Triad and surrounding areas attend the Expo. Due to its great success, there’s a lot of repeat attendees, vendors and businesses, so call now to lock in your spot, at 336-764-6909, 336-448-417 or visit www.triadminoritybusinessexpo.com. Due to COVID restrictions, there will be the necessary precautions in place to keep everyone safe. 

There are plenty of business expos, but not on the level of satisfied businesses and attendees of those that attend the Triad Minority and Women’s Business Expo. I asked founder and director Reginald McCaskill to share the magic to its success. “Eight years! Can you believe it! The magic is the connection we create with the people and businesses. Also, the creativity that we have to maximize individuals’ relationships through business opportunities and the learning of how to grow and build your business,” shared Reginald. 

What I admire most about Reginald is his passion to see local businesses thriving, build better families and communities. Those are some of the motivations that sparked the vision for the Triad Minority and Women’s Business Expo. “I was tired of seeing so many minority businesses struggle in the form of advertising, marketing, and just getting the word out about their businesses,” explained Reginald. “So, I began to look at the major companies and how they did successful marketing and advertisement with billboards, TV, radio, newspapers and all of that. Well, most minority businesses can’t afford that, so I decided we had to create our own space. We have to create our own narrative, so it can’t be defined by anyone else. So, my wife and I started this. Believe it or not Busta, we started out with 20 to 25 businesses. Two years ago, we had 135 businesses that day,” said Reginald. 

McCaskill is very active in the Winston-Salem community, so the support for the Triad Minority and Women’s Business Expo is always great. But like anything else, it can always be better. “I think people look forward to it. Every year at this time, people are asking about the Expo, and we appreciate it when they come out to patronize the businesses, because if they don’t, all of the grand stuff we do will mean absolutely nothing. So, we definitely look forward to the community coming out each year. 

“One of things that excites me is when I see and hear so many people and corporate sponsors wanting to see this product succeed. Because at the end of the day, the Expo is a product,” said Reginald. 

The excitement about the Expo grows more each year, so this time it’ll be held in Winston-Salem, High Point and Greensboro on the same day, at the same time – August 28 from 12 p.m. – 5 p.m. at The Khalif Center in Greensboro on 2000 East Wendover Ave, The Enterprise Conference Center in Winston-Salem on 1922 South Martin Luther King Dr., and in High Point at The Gallery on 100 South Main St. 

“The idea for this is that the businesses are in their communities where their people will actually be,” said Reginald. There’s something else new and exciting this year. “We do a mixer before the Expo and this year we’re doing it in Greensboro, High Point and Winston-Salem. We’re having a mixer today in Downtown Greensboro at The Elm Street Lounge, with a live band, door prizes, speed talks, speed introductions, and tell us about your company. It’s going to be on and popping in downtown Greensboro today from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. The next mixer will be August 19 in Winston-Salem at The Taste of the Triad from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. as well. We picked minority businesses to host these mixers, and it’s a fantastic way to network,” said the president and CEO of Maximum Enterprises Inc. Reginald’s company provides general services in all areas of nonprofit business consulting.

When I asked Reginald what is the expected outcome for Triad Minority and Women’s Business Expo, he said that’s when he gets emotional. “Busta, for me, at the end of the day, if I have a vendor say, ‘Hey, I’ve made tons of connections or my business grew as a result of the Expo.’ That’s when I get emotional, because I feel like the passion that we put into this product is producing something. The passion, the product, and the production is serving its purpose. And that is the ultimate goal for us. At the end of the day, whether you were an attendee or business, you walked away with something that they did not have when you started the day off. The response thus far has been great, so if you’re a vendor, we’re going to be closing down the vending opportunity on August 21, so call us now at 336-448-4177 or visit our website at www.triadminoritybusinessexpo.com. 

“This year’s special celebrity guest is Jovan Johnson from Tyler Perry’s hit TV show ‘The Oval.’ He’s very excited about coming to the Triad. Even though we have a registration, both the Expo and mixers are free and open to the public.” 

My phenomenal Person of the Week is Reginald McCaskill.