Small Business Week
2018 – Who Said They’re Small?
They’re called small businesses. You’ve seen them around.
The meat market, candy store, restaurant and pizzeria, real estate agency,
bank, clinic, convenience store, supermarket, department store, printer,
plumber, carpenter, builder, electrician, manufacturer and other outlets of
commerce. The proprietors open their doors early and close them in the early
evening.
By some official estimates, there are 28-29 million of them
across the United States. And while technically regarded as “small” by the
Small Business Administration (SBA), which places a cap at 500 employees,
there’s nothing small about them – individually and collectively. Their impact
is huge.
Small businesses are the bedrock of the American economy,
culture and mentality. They are the most important cogs in country’s commercial
mechanism. Statistics clearly show that small businesses play a vital role in
the US economy, producing 46% of the private nonfarm gross domestic product
(GDP).
According to the SBA, small businesses make up 99% of
US employer firms, 63% of net new private-sector jobs, 48% of private-sector
employment, 42% of private-sector payroll, 46% of private-sector output, 37% of
high-tech employment, 98% of firms exporting goods and 33 % of exporting value,
they accounted for 63% of the net new jobs created between 1993 and mid-2013.
Not only are small businesses among the most creative and
entrepreneurial forces present in our economy, they also lead in new technology
and patent creation in the country. A report, titled “An Analysis of Small
Business Patents by Industry and Firm Size” funded by the SBA, documented that
small businesses produced 16 times more patents per employee than large firms
did.
Small businesses are truly the backbones of the American
economy and way of life. When they fail or suffer, the economy follows suit
immediately. When they do well, the world could also do well.
With National Small
Business Week beginning in a few days, Main Street America is busy
pondering what to do to attract attention to small businesses from April 29 to May 5. However, the week’s events
and promotions should not merely be intended to drive business by building
revenue. They should drive business by raising awareness about small
businesses’ vibrant roles in local, national and even global matters. By
focusing on the bigger issues during National Small Business Week instead of
merchandise, an entrepreneur becomes a thought leader on a local level while
small businesses collectively will be able to make a difference on the global
stage.
For more than 55 years, thanks to the efforts of the SBA,
small businesses have taken advantage of the opportunity to highlight the extraordinary
impact entrepreneurs and business owners have on their local communities and
the national economy.
Main Street small businesses can start mobilizing themselves
for the week’s festivities by turning to the wide range of issues incorporated
in the United Nations 17 Sustainable Development Goals. The points deal with a
variety of topics that can benefit communities as well as humanity. By calling
attention to them, entrepreneurs will also be calling attention to their
businesses and their thought leadership. Here’s what you can do:
Get the word out.
Pure marketing and outreach. This is where your initiative will rise to the
surface. Prepare a traditional and social media campaign to inform the news
media, your neighbors and community, local officials, vendors, competitors and
other stakeholders about your plans and encourage them to support you. If it
pertains to one or more of the SDGs, explain why. Use press releases, tweets,
Facebook posts and emails to spread the word. The more interesting your
project, the more people you will attract. Once you’ve notified your
constituents in the old-fashioned manner, then post the information on your
active social media platforms to increase your reach.
Partner with small
businesses and the community – Goal 17. Strengthen your impact and reach a
larger audience by joining forces with other small businesses to spread the
word about your role in all of the goals or one of them. Summon all of your
partners to a meeting, invite the press and local officials. This effort will
quickly snowball into a major campaign that shows small businesses are not only
in it to make a buck but also to improve the community.
Share your story.
Again, promotion. Each small business has a story about how and why it began.
This story will focus on why you feel your Small Business Week SDG effort is
worth attention. Don’t keep your and your partners’ story a secret. Use your
unique point of view about the SDGs so it will stand out from others and you’ll
get closer to your customers. Furthermore, millennials are known for their
interest in sustainability. Don’t forget to tell them and they won’t forget to
visit you throughout the year.
Say thank you to the
people who keep your business going and support your view of the SDGs.
Maybe you’ve got a top-notch staff or die-hard customer base. Maybe you have a
mentor you can always call when you hit a lull. Maybe you have SDG doubters or
ardent supporters. Take a moment to step away from the day-to-day frenzy and
show your appreciation. A face-to-face thank you is always great. But you can
also write thank you cards, send an email to your supporters, or post
a thank you on social media. If you’re comfortable in front of a camera, think
about how you can get your message across in a short thank you video while
promoting your and the business community’s work on behalf of sustainability.
Help education – Goal
4. Organize representatives from nonprofits, schools, boy and girl scouts,
libraries and officials, and create a year round program to help education. It
could be one-on-one mentoring or something that will benefit the school for a
semester or year.
Health – Goal 3.
Small businesses, clinics, doctors, officials and pharmacies can collaborate on
a project to help women or senior citizens with health issues. They can ensure
that children have access to immunizations. This is not beyond the reach of
Small Business Week because small businesses are driving it.
Environment – Goals 14
& 15. Small businesses such a field and stream and sporting goods
retailers along with boy and girl scouts can do a lot together to help clean up
the surrounding fields and streams.
Gender equality and
no bullying – Goals 5 & 16. Sadly, a day doesn’t go by without a story
in the news about discrimination against a woman, person of color or an immigrant.
News media are also filled with stories about adolescent bullying. All small
businesses along with houses of worship, schools and civic organizations can
launch a community-wide campaign during Small Business Week to eradicate these
social evils.
If that’s not enough, check out the remaining goals. With
some creativity, you can tap into them and contribute to improving life on this
planet as you celebrate Small Business Week. One small business is a beginning.
Many is a small business campaign for good. You may not fill your coffers with
more money during those seven days but you will certainly reap the benefit of
your sustainable farsightedness throughout the year.
Join the conversation in cyberspace about your efforts to
commemorate Small Business Week with a nod to the SDGs. If you have examples of
how you’ve done it, let me know. If you need help, reach out to me.
Scroll through my blog to read about more ways your small business
and NGO can boost their outreach.
I’d also like to invite you to visit my Thought Leadership
website:
If you’re looking for advice on recruiting, company handbooks and
other human resources topics, I’d like to suggest to you this interesting
website:
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