Take Advantage of National Small Business Week May 23-May 29, 2010 for Great Business Development Tips

national small business week

President Obama proclaimed May 23rd through May 29th, 2010 National Small Business Week with the following opening remarks:

“Small business owners embody the spirit of entrepreneurship and strong work ethic that lie at the heart of the American dream.  They are the backbone of our Nation’s economy, they employ tens of millions of workers, and, in the past 15 years, they have created the majority of new private sector jobs.  During Small Business Week, we reaffirm our support for America’s small businesses and celebrate the proud tradition of private enterprise they represent.”

Small and medium sized businesses in the United States have the opportunity to take advantage of many free online and live business management and development events organized by the SBA (US Small Business Administration) and a number of corporate sponsors.

Comcast’s California Region, to celebrate the start of National Small Business Week, launched a new partnership with the SBA called Comcast Connecting Businesses “that will provide local small and mid-sized businesses with tools, information, and resources via video segments from Comcast’s video-on-demand platform.” Comcast will film the workshops and seminars the SBA conducts in its San Francisco district office and make them available to Comcast Digital Cable customers in California at no additional cost. The videos will also feature interviews with the District Director and local business owners, and highlight forms required to start a business in the US. Comcast will add new vignettes monthly and topics will include: “How to Start a Business,” “How to Obtain a Business License,” “How to Become a Government Certified Business,” “Basics of Marketing Your Business,” and “Financing Your Business 101.”

Google, a true American fairytale, has also partnered with the SBA on a site to help businesses thrive using online tools. They even offer a free dowloadable Online Tools Booklet to help businesses “put these strategies into action.”

You can find a schedule of events held in Washington, DC at the SBA’s website. If you are lucky enough to be in DC you can visit the event website to purchase tickets and register to attend live events. You also have the option to view live streaming webcasts. The SBA offers a number of videos through YouTube with titles that all begin with ‘Strategies for Growth: Profiles of Success.’ Here is the one about Warren Brown and CakeLove. You will find the others listed there as well. Or you can access articles that encapsulate the main points and provide links to the corresponding videos under each of the topics listed at the SBA’s Strategies for Growth section of its website.

The SBA’s Training Network of business management resources is available online 24/7 and offers free training courses, workshops and resources “designed to assist entrepreneurs and other students of enterprise.” Visit the National Small Business Week 2010 event website to access resources and information. And be sure to make yourself aware of locally sponsored events.