America’s #1 Small Business Expert Joins the New York Times. I am excited to announce that I am joining the writing team at the You’re the Boss section of The New York Times. Premiering this May, my column on social media and small businesses will run weekly on the blog centered on small business ownership advice.  Loren Feldman, small-business editor of The New York Times says “Melinda Emerson is a force of nature. She will be writing about social media, and we are very excited about adding her passion, her energy and her insights to You’re the Boss.”  Click here to read more.

I consider May to be National Small Business Month. There are always tons of events, conferences and contests that kick-off or take place during the month of May, and this year is no exception.  May 20-26, 2012 is actually National Small Business Week, which is a great opportunity for businesses large and small to celebrate all that we contribute to the U.S. economy.  Here’s a list of some of the top events taking place this week to help you grow your small business:

On #Smallbizchat this week: We are having a National Small Business Week celebration sponsored by Verizon Small Business @VZSmallBiz. In honor of this special week, Verizon is giving away 12 top business books to the first 200 people who come to #Smallbizchat this Wednesday between 8-9pm ET and use our hashtag.  Follow my @SmallBizLady Twitter handle for more details. Here’s how to participate in #Smallbizchat http://bit.ly/S797e

This week’s #Smallbizchat topic: How to Use Pinterest to Grow Your Small Business with Jennifer Abernethy @SalesLounge and Author of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Social Media Marketing.  Don’t miss it.

Join FedEx Office, Our Office is Your Office Tweet Chat Series On Tuesday May 22, 1-2pm ET with Gene Marks @GeneMarks. He’ll be sharing advice on networking to increase small business cash flow.  To join the live chat on Twitter, follow @FedExOffice and use hashtag #FedExOffice.

National Small Business Week Conference:  Sponsored by the Small Business Administration @SBAgov, which is holding its annual conference in DC this week. If you are in the area, they are having a Tweetup Tuesday May 22^nd in DC. There is still time to register http://owl.li/aZhFu

See SmallBizLady Live: I’ll be in Chicago this week attending the Black Enterprise Entrepreneur’s Conference at the Chicago Hilton. It kicks off May 23-26^th, 2012.  Be sure to check out www.blackenterprise.com this Thursday May 24^th. A feature article on my business will be published as part of their Black Blogger Month series.

Great Contest Opportunity: If you are looking to expand your business, Chase and www.LivingSocial.com have teamed up to give up to 12 grants of $250K to small businesses. This is am amazing opportunity for today’s entrepreneurs. For complete contest details visit www.missionsmallbusiness.com The last day to enter is June 30^th.

Do you know about any other great events for National Small Business Week? Please share them in the comments.

For more tips on how start or grow your small business subscribe to Melinda Emerson’s blog http://www.succeedasyourownboss.com.