This week marks the beginning of National Small Business Week (NSBW), from May 5 through May 11, 2019.
The annual spring event recognizes the contributions and accomplishments of small business owners and entrepreneurs in the United States.
Did you know more than half of Americans either own or work for a small business?
And that small businesses created an estimated two of three new jobs in the United States each year?
Events and activities will take place throughout the week in communities across the country.
You can get information about events happening in your area by contacting your local Small Business Administration district office.
Can’t make it to an in-person event?
I’ve got you covered.
I researched online webinars and virtual conferences and found four events offering strategies, resources, and advice for your small business. Check them out!
1. 2019 National Small Business Week Virtual Conference
Hosted by SCORE and the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), the two-day National Small Business Week Virtual Conference online conference is free and open to the public.
The conference runs from 11am to 5pm Eastern Time on Tuesday, May 7 and Wednesday, May 8 (time zone converter for SBA/SCORE conference).
Webinars for the conference include:
- Making Sense of Online Marketing: A Simple Checklist for Success
- Mastering Control of Your Cash Flow
- Creating Effective Online Ads
- The Culture Imperative: Drive Growth with Customer Obsession
- SBA Funding Programs Explained
- How to do Business with the Federal Government
- Disasters Happen: How to Prepare Your Business and Recover
- The U.S. Economic Outlook and Its Impact on Small Businesses
In addition to the webinars, the conference offers business advice from mentors, giveaways, resources, and networking chat rooms.
2. Turn Small Biz into Smart Biz: Technology for Growth, Productivity and Customer Experience
Entrepreneur has partnered with Comcast to offer a free one-hour webinar to share strategies for using technology to create more efficient, effective and productive small businesses.
Jill Schiefelbein will lead a panel of three small business owners and a tech expert to share impact of smart technology strategies on their growth and customer service.
Pre-registration for the Entrepreneur/Comcast webinar is required.
I’m looking forward to hearing from Anna Copley, co-founder of Pickleball Central. Copley will share her story of leaving her business for a year while traveling around the world with her family, and still achieving business growth.
The webinar will be held Wednesday, May 8, 2019 from noon to 1:00pm Eastern Time (Time zone converter for May 8 webinar).
3. Creating A Cyber Aware Culture In Your Small Business
Join this free webinar for a discussion of best practices and resources to created a cyber aware employee culture at your company.
Hosted by the National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA), Infosec, the Michigan Small Business Development Center, and the Federal Trade Commission, the webinar will be held May 7, 2019 from 2:00pm to 3:00pm Eastern Time (time zone converter for NCSA webinar).
You’ll need to pre-register for the NCSA webinar.
4. Day of Digital
A free all-day webinar, Day of Digital offers a variety of helpful sessions on converting customers, content creation, email campaigns, website optimization for leads, and more.
The Day of Digital webinar will be held Thursday, May 9, 2019 from 8:00am to 5:00pm Eastern Time (time zone converter for Day of Digital).
Each session lasts one hour. Note: by registering for the webinar, you may receive an email from any of the dozen-plus partners.
Summary
With so many online events this week for National Small Business Week, I hope you’ve found some that will help you with growing your small business.
Check out National Small Business Week for event updates as well as the list of the 53 National Small Business Week award-winners for 2019.