Since the 1970s, small businesses have been the largest job generators in the United States. Since that time, small businesses have accounted for 63 percent of jobs, according to the Napa Valley Register. Being such an economic powerhouse, it’s only fair that small businesses are treated to their own week of festivities. This year, May 12th through May 16th is National Small Business Week. During this week, start-ups everywhere are celebrating and being celebrated, and there are plenty of great seminars being held in a few of the nation’s major cities where prominent CEOs and entrepreneurs will hold the floor, and workshops will be held in honor of the small business.
If your business is new to National Small Business Week, or if you just don’t know where to start when it comes to following along and celebrating, consider the following steps your go-to guide!
Step 1: Check out the SBA’s website.
Everything you need to know about this year’s individual National Small Business Week can be found on the Small Business Administration’s site. Check out the top right corner of the home page to subscribe your email address to receive updates and reminders about the week’s festivities to come. Visit the >schedule tab to see if any of the events are near where your business is located. If so, attend what you can! This year’s panel of speakers includes Henry W. Bloch(Co-Founder/Honorary Chairman of the Board at H&R Block), Gail Goodman (CEO of Constant Contact), Eddie Kennison(Former National Football League wide receiver and Motivational Speaker), and Janet Yellen (Chair of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System).
Step 2: Get your live streams ready.
For those of us that don’t live in any of the selected cities (San Francisco, Kansas City, Boston, and Washington DC), you have the option of catching the action online via live streams. Ask any small business owner today, and they’ll all tell you how important the growing world of technology is to their business, so it’d be inappropriate not to stream these small business events when we have the technology to do so!
Step 3: Celebrate in the office!
How involved you get your employees in National Small Business Week is up to you. You could download a stream of the festivities and encourage your team members to take the time to watch the live feed. You could also take the week as an opportunity to offer a promotion for your customers, or partner up with a couple of the other small businesses in your community to offer a group small business week promotion. This is a great way to get to know some of the other small businesses in your area, and it may even lead to a larger-scale partnership down the road if you find that your group promotion works well for both businesses.
Whatever you choose to do, remember how important the work you are doing is. Not only is this a week to educate, but this is also a week to celebrate how great small businesses are for America! As President Obama has said, “America’s small businesses reflect the best of who we are as a nation- daring and innovative, courageous and hopeful, always working hard and looking ahead for the next great idea.”