Video highlights of the Small Business Administration’s National Small Business Week 2010. Joe Zupecki (SBA) summarizes the week’s activities — awards ceremonies, networking receptions (including a Sunday cocktail reception sponsored by Ford), town halls and panels on innovation, exporting, and social media, and honors for state and national award winners; cites that 86% of surveyed American small businesses reported growing export sales.
Chapters
Hi, I'm joe zupecki of the small business administration. Welcome to small business week 2010. I know that we are going to continue to help small businesses grow their business, 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. 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 and 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 kick things off with the cocktail reception Sunday night sponsored by Ford Motor Company. It's a great opportunity for small businesses, the state winners, all of our winners, to get to know one another and connect to kick off a great week. Monday morning, we held our first awards ceremony honoring this year's entrepreneurial and lender award winners. The awards breakfast was the first opportunity for this year's attendees to see our new video board. This year, we're really excited about taking things to the next level for National Small Business Week 2010. Between events, there's been enough time for this year's attendees to network with each other, meet with the different sponsors and vendors who are here, and really learn about new tools and tips for taking their business to the next level. Monday morning, Administrator Karen Mills shared with you her thoughts on the success of the Recovery act and the SBA in implementing it, as well as a vision for the future and where we go as an agency. We've had a number of town hall meetings and panel discussions about everything from exporting to social media and how we can turn innovation into creating jobs. The Innovation Panel served as an opportunity to hear about how the government can support innovation and how small businesses are leading the way in creating jobs through new innovations. At the Exporting Forum, resource partners and providers helped guide you through how to start exporting or expand your exporting operation. If you already sell goods overseas, the Social Media Forum provided an opportunity for you to learn about how you can grow your business through Yelp, Facebook and other social media tools like Twitter. Monday evening, the State Department, who the SBA works with every day to support small businesses, welcomes you and your guests for an evening reception at Tuesday's State Small Business Awards Luncheon. We honored all of our state winners and announced our national champions for the second year in a row. Award winners were welcomed by the White House and got a chance to hear President Obama talk about small business job creation and how we can move the economy forward. We hope you've all enjoyed National Small Business Week 2010. Please enjoy the rest of the evening.
