The Greenbank Farm, host of a popular summer farmer’s market, is enhancing their support for community enterprises.

The annual Home Business Expo will be held inside the main barn next weekend. It will be a showcase for Whidbey Island entrepreneurs’ to exhibit their products and services.

Many of these businesses have samples to taste, demonstrations to watch and information on supply.

For the business owners, it can be a chance to broaden their outreach. For the consumer, it will be a chance to see a variety of products and services available in their own backyard.

And it can be a networking opportunity for all involved.

“We held our first home-business expo last year and it was quite successful,” Events/market manager Issy Olivia said.

“It was exciting to see what could come out of that, and the growth opportunities and possibilities that were there,” she said.

Yvonne Hall participated in the event last year, and said she will keep coming back again and again.

“It really exposed my small business, Oasis Life Sciences, to a huge number of people on the island who didn’t know about it before, and brought on quite a few customers,” she said.

A goal for Greenbank Farm is to provide a community market to support local merchants, and a venue for local residents to find their goods.

Over the years, home-based business people have expressed interest in participating in the farmer’s market, but their products didn’t qualify as “hand-crafted.”

“After several years of inquiries and having to turn people down, I realized there was a need to have an expo,” Olivia said.

Businesses showcased in the expo vary from traditional to one-of-a-kind.

Some of these businesses sell gift-related items such as home decor, jewelry, and chocolate. Nutrition and wellness related businesses will be there as well. And technical businesses that provide service in higher education, grant writing and Web site development will also be there.

Some home-based business people are interested in sharing their commercial enterprises with others.

“Some products, like candles or beauty-care products, center around having a sales party in the home,” Olivia said.

These businesses can sign people up for future appointments or organize business-related parties.

Event organizers are hoping that this year the business expo attracts more businesses to broaden the event’s offerings.

“We are looking for people to participate this year that were not at it last year,” Olivia said. “The word is getting out and it’s growing.”