2017 Small Business Week Highlights

Linda. I'm Linda McMahon of the SBA. Join me as we celebrate National Small Business Week. I'm so pleased to welcome you to Washington. The SBA has been very important to the growth of our company. I like to say entrepreneurs are fighters, but just remember, and I know from experience, it's not how you fall, it's how you get up. One of our stories here, you know your name, and I'll just tell your story a little bit. You know, the big rivers flooded in Texas, and you lost all your inventory. But the thing that really struck me about what I heard with your business was that you continued to pay your employees. The whole time, You hear about people achieving such incredible things with seemingly insurmountable obstacles. That's the American entrepreneurial spirit. The game changer with SBA was that being in that program, it opened up avenues. On behalf of the President of the United States, let me personally thank every small business who has gathered here today for the opportunities that you create every day for the American people. Well, you've heard that sometimes a picture's worth a thousand words. I don't know how many words a video would be worth, but we're going to take a look at the screen and introduce our winner of this year's National Small Business Person of the Year. So I'm definitely going back to D.C. to represent Hawaii during National Small Business Week. Not that he needs an introduction now, but let me formally introduce Garrett Marrero, President and CEO of Mountain Brewing Company. Without the sba, we just wouldn't be here. Welcome to New York. Each business is unique, and you really learn as you grow, do something that you're passionate about. Well, you can tell how proud I am to be in Speedway today. I'm really excited to be around other entrepreneurs. So as you've often heard, many, many times. Ladies and gentlemen, start your eng. Good afternoon, everyone. It's really a pleasure to be here in Texas. Small businesses, as we all know, are the backbone of our economy, creating two out of every three jobs. Half of our entire workforce either works for a small business or owns a small business. It is what is going to help our nation succeed. We often talk about the story of Texas, its dynamism, the great record of job creation. When we do that, we're definitely talking about you. I want to thank all of you for being here today, and I understand that this is the first time that an administrator in over 16 years has been to Fresno. So it was high time, and I'm happy to be here today. If you can't do hard work, you ought not get into small business. I have loved working with the local SBA and its partners. Hello, Jay, how are you? This is a technology hub in downtown Fresno. This has been the most incredibly, a first of all, fun week for me. The thing that I want to take back to Washington, Washington from being on the road this week is a great satisfaction of having what I was really feeling about the opportunities within SBA to be reinforced.