2010 Small Business Week Highlights

Welcome to national small business week 2010.

I know that we are going to continue to help small businesses grow their business and create jobs and help America.

Small businesses are the economic engine in our communities. If businesses don't come back and they're not employing people, it doesn't matter how well the rest of the response went.

And especially we salute the individuals here today, their efforts have been nothing short of remarkable.

86% of American small businesses surveyed reported their export sales are growing faster than small businesses are.

Absolutely essential to our foreign policy as we work to expand economic growth, increase trade, strengthen ties with other nations and create opportunities for people here at home.

Two out of every three jobs. And that's why small businesses aren't just the backbone of this economy, you're also the driving force behind this recovery we.

Started National Small Business Week 2010 with a cocktail reception sponsored by Ford Motor Company. This was a great opportunity for award winners and sponsors to network and get to know each other. Monday morning started with an awards ceremony honoring the Entrepreneurial, Development and Lender award winners. The awards breakfast was the first opportunity for attendees to see the 40 foot by 16 foot video wall which was used in the Grand Ballroom for all awards presentations. We were very excited about taking National Small Business Week to the next level this year. Between events, attendees had time to network and socialize with each other, meet with sponsors, and even make a trip to Capitol Hill to see their senators and congressmen. The Cyber Cafe furnished by Google provided attendees a relaxing atmosphere to stay in touch with their offices and check email Monday morning. Administrator Mills shared her thoughts on the success of the Recovery act and SBA implementation of it. Her keynote address focused on SBA's vision for the future and where it is going as an agency. Attendees had the opportunity to participate in a number of town hall meetings and panel discussions about topics ranging from exporting to social media to turning innovation into jobs. The Innovation Panel was an opportunity to learn how the government supports innovation and how small businesses are leading the way in creating jobs through innovation. For those business owners interested in selling their goods and services internationally, the Exporting Forum provided guidance on how to start exporting or expand current exporting operations. The Social Media Forum provided insight on how to grow businesses through outlets such as Yelp, Facebook and Twitter. The State Department, which works alongside SBA every day to support US Small business efforts around the world, welcomed all award winners to an evening reception. A personal greeting from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was followed by SBA Administrator Karen Mills and State Department Representative Lorraine Harrington speaking about the vast opportunities that exist in exporting. Tuesday morning began with an awards breakfast honoring procurement award winners. After breakfast, all the 2010 award winners attended a White House reception in the Rose Garden where they listened to President Obama speak about small business job creation and moving the economy forward. After an eventful morning, the luncheon honoring all state Small Business Persons of the Year was held. The event concluded with a well anticipated announcement of the National Small Business Person of the year and two runners up. National Small Business Week 2010 was wrapped up with the Champions Awards Gala where the Champion Award winners were honored. Once the formalities were concluded, all our attendees were ready to relax and enjoy the rest of the evening. They were entertained this year by a Washington D.C. based band, Amoretto National Small Business Week 2010 was a great opportunity for small business owners and sponsors to meet and network in a relaxed environment. The information and resources shared here were invaluable to the small business community. Here's what some of the attendees had to say.

The reason this event is really so special is it recognizes the effort that we've been putting out over the last couple of years. It confirms that we've been successful at it and really what we've been successful at as a small business is contributing to the economic recovery, creating jobs, creating product and exporting that product overseas. So really that's what this is all about. I'm honored and grateful to be recognized in this event this week. It recognizes the work of Bridgeway Capital in financing small businesses in Western Pennsylvania in order to create an economic recovery in our region. It's been able to network and be able to learn what the available services that are going on with the SBA and how the SBA is changing their policies in order to better meet the demand of the small business community. This event is a great opportunity to first of all be in Washington D.C. anytime I can get here, I want to come. But more importantly to network with like companies, like entrepreneurs and see if we can get some business out of that and also learn what other things the Small Business Administration has to offer us. Small businesses event for us was they were nice enough to schedule a meeting with Waller Reed Hospital and since that's what we do, we had an opportunity to go in there and find out what they do and how they do it, how our soldiers are recovering from the Iraqi war and those sort of things. And so it was a great inspiration for us to see what they're doing because that's what we do. And so that's been one way that it's been special for us. I'm very excited to be here representing Ocean Springs and the rest of the state of Mississippi. Get the opportunity to meet other small business owners and hear their stories, where they've come from to grow their business and where they're heading. My experience at the event has been fabulous. I've thoroughly enjoyed it. All the sessions that I've attended thus far have been very good. I've enjoyed meeting the people. The information shared has just been wonderful. It's very useful and practical. Two basic rewards and recognition. It is so very important to take the time to recognize those individuals who are basically the foundation of our economy and are part of making our economy strong and making a difference. First time being involved with National Small Business Week, and we're really excited to be here. Certainly small businesses are such a critical part of the economy and a very critical segment of our business as well. So we thought it was important to be here to honor the achievements of the small businesses that are being recognized this week and to also encourage the mission of supporting small businesses. We help 7 million small businesses every year be more successful. And it is with great pride that we're here to learn from some of the most successful small businesses out there, to take pride in what they've done and also to share our tools, tips and tricks with them on how they can grow their business. For us at Visa, it's very important to support the entrepreneurial spirit that small businesses so reflect within the United States and across the globe as businesses. Our contention is anything but small, and we're here to help enable small businesses.

Northrop Grumman is delighted to be part of this conference. The networking opportunities with these dynamic small businesses really is important as a business imperative to our company.

It's important for us to be here this week, as we were last year, to meet with many of the small businesses that come here. As you know, they is a very diverse group, very many different businesses, and it allows us to learn a lot about what they do so that we can take that information back and that feedback back and use it to develop products that will be of benefit to our potential customers. To be here is really a way for us to learn a lot more about what's going on in the small business world. What small businesses need to know about communications, what they need to know about IT services, online marketing services, and even things like hosted applications to make them a better small business, make them more productive and help them grow. So excited to be here really for three reasons. First is we believe that job creation is going to be at the heart of this economic recovery. And as we know, small businesses are the fuel for job creation in the United States. And so we're proud to be a part of any conference that is about empowering and helping small business businesses succeed. Second reason we're happy to be here is e commerce. It's the future of retailing. And anything we can do to help small businesses understand the opportunities to come online and grow their businesses, we think that's good for small business, it's good for the economy, and it's obviously good for ebay. Which really brings me to my third reason for being here is we're excited to tell small business owners about the opportunities on eBay. With 80 million online buyers from around the globe, ebay continues to be the best place to start and grow an online business. My experience being here at the small Business Association National Business Week has just been phenomenal because it's an opportunity to talk with small businesses, understand what their issues are and tell them how we can help them be more successful exporting outside the United States.

And Google's really here because we believe the tools we offer small businesses help level the playing field for them to compete against the bigger businesses and hopefully to grow. So we talked a lot today about Google Places, which is a website you can have and connecting to Google Maps and using our advertising products to find users on the web. One in five searches is a local search. My experience has been one of excitement and enthusiasm for the small business marketplace. The speaker's comments this morning, starting with administrator Mills, enthusiasm for the potential of small business to be the engine that fuels economic growth, is very consistent with my vision at, at&t running small business. So of course I was very excited to hear our messages be consistent. And I was also very inspired by the town hall where so many of the small business owners spoke very honestly and very candidly about the effect the economy has had on their companies and really how essential the SBA is to their growth and development as a company from a sustainability standpoint.