SBA Preparing for National Small Business Week

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The nationwide celebration of small businesses is two weeks away.

National Small Business Week is being held from May 4-8 this year. For one week every year since 1963, the President of the United States has declared a national recognition for small businesses and their importance to the economy.

This is the 52nd National Small Business Week in the U.S. Ahead of last year’s festivities, President Barack Obama released an official statement on the impact of small businesses. In it, he said:

“America’s small businesses are the backbone of our economy. More than that, our small businesses represent what is best about America – that with hard work and ingenuity, anyone – no matter their background – can build a better future for themselves and their families.”

To commemorate National Small Business Week, the U.S. Small Business Administration is hosting a week’s worth of events to recognize the contributions of small businesses across the country.

The SBA will be hosting events each day of the week in select cities to honor its annual award winners for National Small Business Week.

This year’s theme will be “SBA: Dream Big, Start Small.”

Events during Small Business Week are planned for Miami, Los Angeles, New York City, and Washington, D.C. There is an event per city, per day, finishing up in the nation’s capital.

At these events, the SBA will award the area’s top small businesses and business leaders. On May 8, at the main event in Washington, the National Small Business Person of the Year will be recognized. The national winner will be chosen from among the 54 state and territorial winners already named by the SBA.

SBA Administrator Maria Contreras-Sweet said in a statement honoring the 54 regional winners this year:

“Competition was extremely keen across the nation for these prestigious awards. I couldn’t be any prouder than recognizing these outstanding entrepreneurs and small business owners, they represent the backbone of our economy.”

During and after Small Business Week, the SBA will continue to recognize and reward small businesses within its 10 regions and 68 districts.

The SBA says that small businesses were responsible for creating two million of the three million new jobs in the U.S. in 2014. And more than half of all Americans currently work for a small business.

Image: Small Business Administration

This article, “SBA Preparing for National Small Business Week” was first published on Small Business Trends