National Small Business Week is the perfect time to connect with your community’s small business owners and startups and to shine a light on the resources available to start and grow a business.
Use the buzz of national events to host collaborative events connecting your startups and small businesses. Create collisions by bringing together your entrepreneurs and aspiring business owners together to exchange ideas and introduce partnerships. These events can be official like a 1 Million Cups or Startup Weekend, or your organization can host a coffee and networking hour with a Resource Partner.
Case in point: in May communities celebrate entrepreneurship during National Small Business Week. Since 1963, the annual event sponsored by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) recognizes the impact of outstanding entrepreneurs and small business owners from across the nation.
This is how one of our affiliate partners is bringing their business owners together and rallying entrepreneurship.
Loudoun Small Business Week
Loudoun County, Virginia, already knows National Small Business Week is an opportunity to celebrate its entrepreneurs and connect them with resources; however, they wanted to make their celebration of entrepreneurship local and personal.
Every year, Virginia’s Loudoun Economic Development and its partners hold an after-party and celebrate Small Business Week the week after the national recognition.
The first day kicks off with a day-long conference then the rest of the week is filled with panel discussions, workshops, awards programs and social hours designed to educate, connect and celebrate the region’s small business community.
Using a central calendar as a hub for the week’s events allows Loudoun County to be at the center of all things entrepreneurial, while it gives entrepreneurs one place to access event details and registration.
We sat down with Vanessa Wagner, small business and entrepreneurship manager of Loudoun, to find out exactly how Loudoun County rallies its community around entrepreneurship.
Bring the Entrepreneurial Celebration Home
You don’t have to wait until next May to showcase your entrepreneurial community. Check out this calendar of national small business celebrations on which you can hang your local events and celebrate the businesses that grow your economy.
Send us a message to learn more about our tools and resources to promote your community’s celebrations.
