May 1-7 marks this year’s Small Business Week, a celebration of the critical contributions of America’s entrepreneurs and small business owners. The theme of the 2016 Small Business Week is “Dream Big, Start Small.” Small Business Week is an annual event hosted by the U.S. Small Business Administration. As part of this week-long celebration, the SBA will highlight the impact of outstanding entrepreneurs and small business owners from all 50 states and U.S. territories. You can see the full list of the 2016 Small Business Person of the Year winners from each state here. The winners will be formally recognized in D.C. during events happening May 1-2. The 2016 National Small Business Person of the Year will also be announced from among the state and territory winners. According to the SBA, more than half of Americans either work for or own a small business. America’s 28 million small businesses are credited with creating about two out of every three new jobs in the U.S. each year. National Small Business Week got its start in 1963, and each year since then, the President has issued a proclamation to officially announce the dates.
National Small Business Week 2016 Events
There are great in-person and online events planned all week long – you can check out the full schedule here. One event worth highlighting is the May 2 Cybersecurity Panel Discussion at the United States Institute of Peace. At 11 a.m. EST, SBA Deputy Administrator Doug Kramer will be joined by experts from Microsoft, ADP and ESET to discuss cybersecurity tips and trends. To participate in any of the events, you can watch live at www.sba.gov/nsbw or join the conversation on Twitter using the hashtag #DreamSmallBiz. In addition to the live events, SBA is offering a number of informative webinars covering topics important to small business owners. You can find that schedule here.
