National Small Business Week is the U.S. Small Business Administration’s (SBA) annual event recognizing the hard work, innovation, and contributions of America’s entrepreneurs and small businesses from across the country. Recognized through proclamation by the President of the United States since 1963, National Small Business Week 2023 takes place April 30-May 6, 2023. Observed the first week in May, the tradition has been led by the SBA for over 60 years and co-hosted by SCORE.
National Small Business Week 2023 Events
On April 30 and May 1, the 2023 State Small Business Persons of the Year from across the U.S., DC, and Puerto Rico will be recognized by the SBA at ceremonies in Washington, DC. This marks the return to the in-person ceremonies since 2019 after pivoting to virtual recognitions in response to the global pandemic. SBA Administrator Guzman will then visit four cities as part of the National Small Business Week Tour, including St. Louis, Minneapolis, Phoenix, and Albuquerque.
The SBA continues the tradition of hosting the free Virtual Summit, taking place Tuesday, May 2 – Wednesday May 3. The summit features access to federal resources, educational workshops, and networking to help entrepreneurs start, grow, and build resilient businesses. More details on the summit agenda can be found here. The event is open to the public and registration is free.
To celebrate National Small Business Week, the SBA will also host several events across the country. You can find information about your local-area events online.
America’s Small Businesses – By the Numbers
Small businesses are the drivers of our nation’s economy. The SBA Office of Advocacy 2022 U.S. Small Business Profile reports key indicators of America’s small business. Highlights include:
- 33.2 million small businesses (99.9% of U.S. businesses)
- 61.7 small business employees (46.4% of U.S. employees)
- 5.2 million self-employed minorities
- 43.2% women-owned
- 6.4% veteran-owned
- 13.8% Hispanic-owned
- 19.4% minority-owned
Visit the 2022 Small Business Profiles for the States, Territories, and Nation and Small Business Facts to learn more.
About the U.S. Small Business Administration
Under the leadership of SBA Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman, the mission of the U.S. Small Business Administration is to help “Americans start, build, and grow businesses.”
The SBA was created in 1953 as an independent agency of the federal government to aid, counsel, assist and protect the interests of small business concerns, to preserve free competitive enterprise and to maintain and strengthen the overall economy of our nation. To learn more, visit https://www.sba.gov/.
Additional Resources
Already in business or thinking about starting your own small business? Check out our various small business resources:
- View our small business help topics here: Small Business Information Center
- View our business reports here: Small Business Snapshots
- View our industry-specific research here: Market Research Links
- View our small business cybersecurity resources here: Cybersecurity
- View our pandemic business resources here: COVID-19 Publications
Remember, you can also receive free professional business advice and free or low-cost business training from your local Small Business Development Center!
About the SBDC National Blog
The SBDC National Information Clearinghouse (SBDCNet) is the official business research and support program for the national SBDC network. For 25 years, the SBDCNet has been dedicated to meeting the information and resource needs of the small business community and working in partnership with SBDCs to ensure their clients’ success. The SBDC National Blog is a publication of SBDCNet that features small business news, stories and more. If you have a small business resource or SBDC client success story you think would make a great feature, please Contact Us.
Photo credit: U.S. Small Business Administration
