POULSBO — Dan Weedin may be best known locally for his years on the Viking hardcourt, but Saturday his focus was all business.

Weedin, who now operates Toro Insurance Consultants out of his home, said it’s difficult to generate much visibility without a storefront or other public signage, which made Saturday’s Greater Poulsbo Chamber of Commerce’s first business expo a great opportunity.

“It keeps you out in front of people, and provides opportunities to network and find out other people’s needs,” Weedin said.

In addition to meeting potential customers at the expo, Weedin said the event also offered a chance to network with other business owners who are in similar situations.

“In the past it used to be ‘location, location, location.’ Now I think a lot of it is visibility,” he said, adding that his primary conference room is Hot Shots Java in downtown Poulsbo.

That marked change in the local business environment is part of what makes events like the business expo, so important to businesses as they compete in the marketplace, Weedin said.

For Chuck Weaver, the event provided a platform to promote the citywide directory of Poulsbo.

“From my standpoint, it lets other people know about one phone directory more than the other ones,” Weaver said, adding that the event also gave businesses a chance to show what they have to offer the community. “I think it’s great that the chamber is offering this opportunity for businesses.”

For its first year, the event was an overall success, said Greater Poulsbo Chamber of Commerce executive director Stuart Leidner.

“Everyone felt pretty good about it,” Leidner said. “We felt we had a good attendance.”

Of the 40-plus businesses that participated in the event, one business owner has already requested space in next year’s expo, he said.

“It was an opportunity for people to find out what’s available in the community,” Leidner said. “It also allowed businesses to network, and get to know other businesses more in-depth.”

One result of that networking could be more referrals between local businesses to customers searching for other services in the area, he said.

“It was a win-win for the city,” Leidner said.