The beginning of May rings in one of our favorite weeks of the year: National Small Business Week. From May 5 to 11, 2019, the Small Business Administration will be holding a series of activities to celebrate small business owners and raise awareness of the hard work that they do – work that powers our economy and drives innovation forward.
Below you can find a list of national and local events hosted by SBA and some of our member organizations. If you’d like us to include your organization’s event on this post, please send an email to Daniela.
NATIONAL SMALL BUSINESS WEEK
May 3-5: SBA is teaming up with Visa to host the Small Business Week Hackathon at the Inclusive Innovation Incubator in Washington, D.C. Developers, designers, and entrepreneurs will be building apps and solutions to help small business owners prepare and recover from major natural disasters.
May 5-6: National Small Business Week kicks off in earnest with the National Award Ceremonies honoring several small business owners, including the National Small Business Person of the Year. The 2-day event will be livestreamed on SBA’s Facebook page and will include virtual workshops on “Next Wave in Digital Commerce” and “Social Media Tips for Your Small Business.”
May 7-9: SBA will host an educational virtual conference for business owners addressing a wide range of topics, including marketing, financing, and customer relationship management.
May 7-9: SBA will be on the road with several in-person events in Tampa, Houston, and Salt Lake City.
May 10: SBA will host a Twitter chat at 11:00 am PT on how to start and grow a business. Join/follow the conversation using #SmallBusinessWeek.
SAN FRANCISCO SMALL BUSINESS WEEK
May 6: The City Hall Pop Up shop will host over 40 local makers, artisans, and merchants selling their wares and celebrating their craft.
May 6: Inspiring business owners come together to share their stories and tips for success at InspireSF.
May 6-10: More than 30 free marketing, finance, legal and business basics workshops will be held all around the City.
May 7: Learn about San Francisco’s challenging current retail environment from a panel of women business owners, both brick-and-mortar and e-commerce, at Renaissance Entrepreneurship Center’s “Women Mean Business: Revitalizing Retail.” The event will focus on innovative revenue generating solutions such as hosting popups, facilitating instruction classes, and strategic customer engagement.
May 8: Small Business Awards Ceremony
May 9: San Francisco Mayor London Breed and the Office of Economic and Workforce Development will host a Small Business Policy Roundtable covering a wide range of topics impacting small business. Attendees will be provided an opportunity to engage other small businesses and Neighborhood Economic Development Organizations and give feedback on the ease and challenges to Start, Stay and Grow in San Francisco.
May 11: Support local entrepreneurs at Neighborhood Sales Experiences, a citywide day of sidewalk sales.
OAKLAND SMALL BUSINESS WEEK
May 6: Oakland Family Legacy Business Awards Reception & Ceremony
May 7: Oakland City Council and Mayor Libby Schaaf Honor Local Small Business Owners
May 7: Anew America and the City of Oakland will host a workshop presented by Renaissance Entrepreneurship Center, designed to help entrepreneurs leverage websites, online tools and other technology to manage various aspects of their business from finances and marketing to sales and everyday organization.
May 8: At Meet the Funders, entrepreneurs will have the opportunity to network individually with a multitude of funders and lenders as well as other financial institutions. There will also be a panel discussion with key lenders for all levels of financing including micro-lending, crowdfunding, and venture capital. Presented by Main Street Launch, Working Solutions, KIVA and Pacific Community Ventures.
May 8: Oakland Multi-Cultural Chambers’ Members of the Year Awards Reception
May 9: Rani Langer-Croager of Uptima Business Bootcamp will present an interactive workshop to discuss the different elements of a business model and help entrepreneurs develop their business model canvas.
May 9: Anew America’s Women’s Business Center, Oakland and the City of Oakland are hosting two workshops: “Cyber Security for Small Business Owners” and “Women Mentoring Women: Connect-Learn-Inspire.”