Business Showcase features selfmarketing expert

The Columbia Chamber of Commerce has selected a keynote speaker for its annual Business Showcase. Jeff Beals, an author, commercial real estate broker and part-time college professor from Omaha, Neb., will talk about building a successful career through self-marketing.
Beals is currently vice president of Coldwell Banker Commercial World Group, a commercial real estate company that provides brokerage and property management services to clients in Nebraska and Iowa. He is also a co-host of Grow Omaha and host of a weekly television program on Omaha’s NBC affiliate. Beals has had more than 200 articles published and is a member of the National Speakers Association.
He is also the author of Self Marketing Power, a book about building yourself as a brand to get ahead in business and life. The book uses anecdotes from Beals’ life to teach readers how to market themselves. He emphasizes establishing name recognition to become well-known in your sphere of interest. By developing expertise in your area of business, you can become a sought-after speaker, consultant and source for news stories, Beals writes.
Beals also has spent years in the education profession. He has served as an adjunct faculty member at the University of Nebraska at Omaha for seven years and teaches real estate sales and leasing courses. Before entering the real estate profession in 2001, Beals worked as dean of student affairs and director of enrollment management at Clarkson College in Omaha. He has also worked as assistant director of admissions at the College of Santa Fe in New Mexico.
Beals will speak during the Showcase’s Women’s Network Luncheon, between 11:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. at the Holiday Inn Select Executive Center. The Showcase starts at 9 a.m. on March 15. Booths are open during the morning, but they will close during the luncheon so participants can hear Beals’ presentation. Booths reopen until 3:30 p.m., and the mixer, sponsored by the Columbia Business Times, goes until 5 p.m.
For those planning to attend the Showcase, Visionworks Marketing & Communications is sponsoring an exhibitor training seminar Jan. 26 to give businesses tips on planning and running a successful booth.
Interested business owners can sign up for the yearly networking event now. Call Victoria Brees at the Chamber: (573) 817-9113.