A Guide to Celebrating Small Business Week 2023

If you’re an established or aspiring small business owner, you might want to mark your calendar: National Small Business Week will take place Sunday, April 30 through Saturday, May 6, 2023.

Looking for ways to celebrate the occasion or getting involved in the festivities? You’ve come to the right place. Here’s the background on Small Business Week and a list of events you don’t want to miss.

What is National Small Business Week?

National Small Business Week began in 1963, when then President John F. Kennedy issued a proclamation announcing the importance of America’s entrepreneurs and small business owners to the country’s economy.

Since then, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has worked to bring small business owners together during the first week of May each year to celebrate entrepreneurs and small business owners in every state with awards and special recognition. The celebration is also an opportunity for newer business owners to learn from the success stories of other small businesses.

This year’s event features a two-day virtual summit, where small business owners can network with other business owners and get expert advice and training. Attendance is free, but you’ll need to register for the event here.

Check Out what Small Business Week 2023 Has in Store for You:

This year marks the return of in-person award ceremonies for the first time since 2019.

Starting Sunday, April 30, the SBA will recognize the 2023 Small Business Persons of the Year. They represent the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. The winners will be announced on Monday. Then on Tuesday and Wednesday, the free virtual summit will be held.

Looking for ways to get involved? Check out the following Small Business Week daily activities for 2023:

Sunday, April 30

Kick the week off by joining the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) live Facebook events.

You also can check out what’s trending here.

Or follow the SBA’s Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook where the 2023 Small Business Persons of the Year continue to be recognized.

Monday, May 1

This is the day of the SBA awards ceremony. Be sure to check back in with the SBA or one of Administrator Guzman’s social media accounts as one of the state/territory winners will be awarded the Small Business Persons of the Year.

After kicking off the week at the awards ceremony, Guzman will then hit the road and visit four cities from May 2-5 - St. Louis, Minneapolis, Phoenix, and Albuquerque. Be sure to continue to follow her and SBA on social media for updates.

Tuesday, May 2

All day (11:00 a.m.–6:30 p.m. ET/8:00 a.m.–3:30 p.m. PT)

Part 1: Free Virtual Conference

The SBA is hosting the National Small Business Week 2-day Virtual Summit.

No matter where you’re located, you can join the SBA summit as it’s a virtual event.

This action-packed event includes educational sessions, links you to online business resources, and lets you hear from — and chat with — expert speakers. It’s a good opportunity to learn new business strategies and meet other like-minded business owners.

As we mentioned earlier, the 2023 SBA Summit is free, but it’s important that you register for it.

Tuesday’s live conference webinars include:

• Welcome! Explore the virtual summit environment
• Visa Economic & Small Business Outlook — Recession: To Be or Not to Be?
• Embrace the Connected World: How to Leverage IoT for Small Business
• Simple Steps to Write and Follow a Sustainable Business Plan that Ensures You Achieve Your Goals
• Small Business Growth in the Age of AI: A Conversation on Trends, Opportunities, and Challenges
• Unlock the Power of AI in Email Marketing to Sell More
• Getting Creative with Ads
• Cybersecurity & Your Small Business

The scheduled times for each webinar can be found here.

Wednesday, May 3

All day (11:00 a.m.–6:30 p.m. ET/8:00 a.m.–3:30 p.m. PT)

Part 2: Free Virtual Conference

The SBA free virtual summit continues. If you haven’t already registered, you can do so here.

Wednesday’s live conference webinars include:

• Fueling Growth: The Impact Digitizing Payments Has on Your Business
• Evolving Your Small Business with the Power of 5G
• Small Business Payment Strategies to Optimize Your Payment Processes
• Future-Proofing Your Small Business for Long-Term Success
• The Future of Commerce: 2023 Edition
• Growing Your Business and Making an Impact with E-Commerce
• Tapping Tech to Elevate Performance, Productivity, and Profitability
• Ushering in the Second Half of 2023: Key Insights for SMBs

The scheduled times for each webinar can be found here.

Thursday, May 4

The SBA isn’t hosting an official event on Thursday, but there’s still plenty of other events, either online or in your area. Find an in-person local event by visiting Eventbrite and searching “Small Business Week.”

SCORE, a resource partner for the SBA, also offers live webinars. Get inspired and sign up for one.

Friday, May 5

Thinking about starting your own business? Here’s a webinar for entrepreneurs you might find worth your time:

10:30-11:00 a.m. ET Daily Business Booster Dose: Business Marketing Strategy for Entrepreneurs

If you’re building your first business and have questions or concerns, you may want to check out this webinar. It will walk you through the steps of starting your own business, from selecting the best business idea to business planning and learning the correct fundamentals that provide your business the best chance to succeed.

General admission is free. Or for $21.25, you can get access to the webinar event’s resources (for 3 months) that go along with it.

Saturday, May 6

If you already have a business, finish the week by focusing on it and connecting with your customers or clients. Here are some ideas:

Share your company story. Why did you start your business? Do you have a passion for solving a particular problem or helping a group of people? Post your company’s story on your website, blog, and social media channels.

Customers love to hear why you do what you do. When you post, make sure to use the hashtag #SmallBusinessWeek to potentially increase your exposure and help other business owners and customers find you.

Show customer appreciation. Small Business Week is the perfect time to thank your customers for their support. Try emailing them or mailing a card. Offer a coupon with your “thank you” — it can be a great marketing opportunity.

Partner with other businesses. The weekend can be a great time to team up with other businesses to offer a deal. For example, if you own a spa, consider finding a local hair salon and offer a dual-promotion. Partnering with other businesses might increase your business’s exposure.

Sign into social media. Connect with your customers online by hosting your own Twitter chat. First, pick a day and time (perhaps on that Saturday), then write down a list of common questions you can answer to help get the conversation started.

You’ll want to pick a hashtag to promote your Twitter chat ahead of time. Learn more about hosting Twitter chats here. They can be a great way to get to know your customers and also get useful business intel.

Here to Support Small Businesses All Year Long

At Simply Business®, we love National Small Business Week. In fact, we love small businesses every day of every week. It’s why we do what we do — helping small business owners find insurance coverage to protect the very thing they worked so hard to build — their business.

When it comes to finding the policy that’s right for your business, we help make the options clear. We help make the process simple. And best of all, we can make getting insurance for your business affordable. With our free online quote tool, we can have a quote ready for you in minutes. It can be that easy. That way you can get back to focusing on what’s really important to you — your business.

And we take care of you in other ways, too. Our robust resource center has a plethora of information you might need for running a successful business, including:

• Articles that offer advice for how-to, when-to, and why-to questions
• Free time-saving tools and templates, such as business plans and invoicing
• Info on contractor and business licensing
• And so much more

We designed our resource center to provide you business advice and tools to help run your small business. Also, it’s not necessary to have insurance through us to use these resources. They’re available to you anytime you might need them.

So while you’re checking out what’s going on during National Business Week, stop by Simply Business. See what we’re up to and how we can help you. We’d love to say hello.

Keep dreaming big

This goes without saying, but Small Business Week is for you, the small business owner. Take some time to reflect on the hard work you’ve put in and all that you’ve accomplished.

After all, it’s not easy to be a small business owner, but you’re doing it — or considering doing it — and you’re contributing to America’s economy in an important way. Celebrate your hard work and get creative to help keep your business thriving. You’ve got this. Keep dreaming big!