Susan Ratliff
Susan Ratliff Presents Inc
Scottsdale, AZ, UNITED STATES
Speaker-Author-Exhibit Expert-Event Producer
Biography
SUSAN RATLIFF is an award-winning business owner, entrepreneur and author with thirty five years of experience in sales and marketing. Known in industry circles as The Exhibit Expert, Susan earned that title in the tradeshow trenches discovering the shortcuts and making the mistakes so her clients don’t have to. From both sides of the exhibit aisle she learned what it takes to turn a booth into a powerful profit center. Susan knows what attendees want, how exhibitors think and what they both need to be successful. Her audiences leave her sessions with a renewed enthusiasm for tradeshow marketing, keys to a competitive advantage and the knowledge to work the show like a pro. Susan’s additional programs in her trio of training are on networking and attracting free publicity while her keynote offers her personal business journey about overcoming obstacles. No matter which presentation, Susan consistently delivers a high energy, information packed program filled with relevant content, punctuated with humor and illustrated with personal stories and examples from the field, guaranteed to entertain the audience and inspire action.
Ratliff had no fancy college degree or corporate experience when she started her first business in 1988 with $5000 in savings. For six years she ran a home based, personalized children’s book distributorship becoming the 2nd largest in the country. It was there that she honed her exhibiting skills. In 1994, after a divorce, she sold the book business, borrowed money from family and credit cards to launch a portable trade show display company. Over the next 16 years her successful exhibit house amassed numerous awards for business excellence and innovation as she positioned herself as an expert in her field.
During those years of business growth this busy entrepreneur wrote five books and built a lucrative speaking, consulting and event production company, Susan Ratliff Presents Inc. In 2005 she created the Women Entrepreneurs’ Small Business Boot Camp, an annual educational conference in Arizona that is on track to expand nationally. In 2010 Ratliff sold the display company but continues to provide, training, consulting and resources for tradeshow marketing to business owners and exhibitors across the country.
Susan is an entrepreneur in the true sense of the word. A street savvy business owner whose companies were self-funded, built from scratch and award-winning.
Industry Expertise (3)
Women
Training and Development
Events Services
Accomplishments (15)
NAWBO President's Choice (professional)
2012 Winner
NAWBO Business All Star (professional)
2010 Winner
Lewis Shattuck National Small Business Advocate of the Year (NSBA) (professional)
2009 Finalist
Positively Powerful Woman – Triad West (professional)
2008 Winner
NAWBO National – Exceptional Woman / Exceptional Leader (professional)
2007 Winner
Enterprising Women Magazine Women of the Year (professional)
2007 Finalist
NAWBO Mirassou – Optimist Award (professional)
2006 Finalist
NAWBO Pioneer Award (professional)
2005 Winner
Great Phoenix Chamber of Commerce – Small Business Person of the Year (professional)
2005 Finalist
Community Megastar Award (professional)
2005 Finalist
Women’s Missionary Society of the African Methodist Church – Legacy Award (professional)
2004 Winner
Scottsdale Chamber of Commerce – Sterling Award for Micro-Business (professional)
2003 Winner
NAWBO Business Owner of the Year (professional)
2000 Winner
Scottsdale Chamber of Commerce – Small Business of the Year (professional)
1993 Winner
Entrepreneurial Mothers Association – Entrepreneurial Mother of the Year (professional)
1992 Winner
Affiliations (4)
- National Speakers Association (NSA) - President of Phoenix Chapter
- National Association of Consumer Shows (NACS)
- National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO ) – past Board of Directors
- Arizona Small Business Association (ASBA) - member, past board member
Links (4)
Sample Talks (1)
How To Succeed When You Don’t Feel Successful
Ten Lessons to Spark Your Entrepreneurial Spirit: The discouragement we sometimes experience from overwhelming obstacles and the frustration we suffer from unexpected challenges can derail our chance for business success, yet just one spark of encouragement can redirect us onto a positive path. Susan Ratliff has experienced her share of barriers and road-blocks, but ignored the naysayers and pushed past the pessimists to become an award winning entrepreneur, author and professional speaker.
Style
Availability
- Keynote
- Panelist
- Workshop Leader
- Corporate Training
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