What’s National Small Business Week All About?
If you’re a new entrepreneur, you might not know about Small Business Week. In 1963, President Kennedy signed a proclamation announcing a dedicated week to celebrate and assist small businesses. Ever since then, it has grown in size and scope. Many events are now hosted online and retail stores. Brands targeting small businesses such as Microsoft stores are hosting live events in their retail locations to demonstrate their latest products and service check this link to find a Microsoft event near you.
The SBA or Small Business Administration’s is hosting live events in Washington, DC, Atlanta, GA, Phoenix, AZ, Denver, Colorado, and San Jose, CA. Check out the Small Business Week Webpage for details. But there are two special online events that I want you to mark your calendar.
#Smallbizchat Goes to LIVE Stream May 4th
If you’re a fan of #SmallBizChat, you know that every Wednesday from 8 to 9 pm ET, we invite small business experts to educate us on all things small business on Twitter. We’ve learned everything from how to generate leads to how to hire an SEO firm to how to put profit first, and a lot more.
To celebrate National Small Business Week this week, we will be hosting a live broadcast of #SmallBizChat from New York City LIVE May 4 at 8 pm Eastern. This extra-special #SmallBizChat will be sponsored by Sam’s Club and Insightly, two brands that know small business.
As always, we will have some great guests on the show, including:
Brent Leary (@BrentLeary)
If you don’t yet know Brent, he is a wonderful customer relationship management and technology expert. On this special #SmallBizChat, he will teach us how to build sales systems in your small business as well as how to have success with CRM.
Sylvie DiGiusto (@Sylvie_diGiusto)
Sylvie is a fabulous personal branding expert. On this #SmallBizChat, she will give us actionable tips to help us build an image of leadership.
Nina Kaufman (@NinaKaufman )
Nina Kaufman is a small business champion—not just your ordinary business attorney. Forbes Magazine calls her “One of the 25 Most Influential Women Tweeting about Entrepreneurship.” The U.S. Small Business Administration named her their regional Women in Business Champion of the Year for her creative approaches to educating and advocating for small businesses.
Additionally, we will have some fantastic giveaways and surprises during the chat, so this is one you don’t want to miss. If you tweet a question to one of my guests, that’s how you will qualify to win a prize. Mark your calendar for Wednesday, May 4 and visit Succeed as Your Own Boss to watch the live stream. Also, follow #SmallBizChat on Twitter for live updates!
Live Tweetchat at 2pm ET Sponsored by FedEx Thursday, May 5th
Join me and Alfred Edmunds Jr. from Black Enterprise Magazine at 2 pm ET for a Live tweetchat on how to run a successful online business. Participants will have the opportunity to win a pair of tickets to Black Enterprise’s Golf and Tennis Challenge in Palm Beach Garden, Florida September 1-4, 2016. Follow the hashtag #FedexGrant to join in on the conversation.
Could you use $25K to boost your small business?
In honor of National Small Business Week, FedEx is launching the 4th Annual Small Business Grant Contest. For details: http://smallbusinessgrant.fedex.com/
Additional Small Business Week Resources
Celebrate all week long. This is your week, after all. Here are a few places to get more information on events for Small Business Week.
Small Business Trends: Always a useful source of information, Small Business Trends has a Killer List of National Small Business Week 2016 Events to check out.
Twitter: Twitter has a list of Twitter accounts to follow to stay up to date on Small Business Week tweets and trends.
Small Business Administration: The logical source for small business-related information, the SBA has a dedicated website for Small Business Week. Be sure to follow the hashtag #DreamSmallBiz for more national small business week activities.
Make sure to check your local small business resources for freebies and special events! And I’ll “see” you on May 4 at 8 pm Eastern for the Small Business Week #SmallBizChat live event!