Every year, we celebrate National Small Business Week in the first week of May. This week is a time to lift up and celebrate the important contributions of small business owners and entrepreneurs across the United States. Nearly half of all economic activity in America is generated by small businesses, and Small Business Week aims to spotlight their importance and innovation.
For small business owners, it’s also an opportune time to foster your local community, connect with your neighborhood of customers, and reinvigorate your brand.
Wondering how to celebrate Small Business Week this year? From marketing ideas to local promotions, we’ve crafted a complete guide to making the most of this entrepreneurial holiday.
What is Small Business Week?
While small businesses have long been at the heart of the American economy, this particular celebration has only existed for around 60 years.
In 1963, President Kennedy issued a proclamation that the first full week of May would be National Small Business Week. It was considered a day to honor and commemorate the work of millions of Americans and their entrepreneurial spirit.
Under the guidance of the United States Small Business Administration, National Small Business Week’s mission has extended to:
- Furthering economic growth
- Sharing local business tools
- Broadening networks
- Celebrating the resilience of small businesses
Ways your business can benefit
As a small business owner, you can start your celebration by looking to the national resources created to assist small businesses in honor of this holiday, including:
- Virtual summit – The Small Business Administration invites entrepreneurs across diverse industries to join a live virtual summit where they can learn more about tools and resources to improve their local small businesses. Resources may include information regarding loan opportunities, marketing strategies, and more.
- National bus tour – During Small Business Week, several elected officials and Small Business Administration employees lead a bus tour across the country with the goal of making connections. If your city is part of this tour, it can be a great way to further your celebrations and find networking opportunities.
These and other national events can be incredible ways to share the spirit of small business success across the country. However, you may find even more impact by focusing on Small Business Week celebrations within your local community.
How to prepare for Small Business Week in your community
It’s time to roll up your sleeves and start planning your own Small Business Week festivities. The following examples offer a few strategies to bolster your business and revitalize your local relationships.
Expand your social media
For businesses today, social media is one of the best ways to connect with your customers in a practical and personal way. Your digital networks allow you to share your small business ideas, goals, and achievements with your community at any time.
While regular posting can be a fantastic way to connect, a few specific social media marketing plans this Small Business Week can help to increase your user interactions and bring more engagement to your local small business.
Consider the following ideas to make Small Business Week a success with social media:
- Share your business story - From the first dollar to your most recent hire, social media offers an excellent way to share the history of your local business and how your customers have played a part. As an example, Michigan-based paddleboard company Little Bay Boards told the inspiring story of how they grew from their humble garage beginnings to their current 11,000-square-foot facilities.
- Create a Small Business Week welcome video – Video marketing is a wonderful way to share the visual story of your small business, and today you don’t need anything more than a smartphone to create one. Welcome locals with a video describing your Small Business Week plans, and you’re likely to generate a big buzz.
- Use hashtags – Small Business Week is all about making connections, and you can connect with more searches by including a relevant hashtag like #smallbusinessweek on all of your posts. This will help amplify your content and make it more accessible to those looking to support small businesses during this important week.
As always, social media works best when used with purpose, quality, and consistency. Try to post frequently and with high-quality content to build up your business's digital presence. In addition, aim to share on a platform that connects directly to your local neighborhood of customers, like through a Nextdoor Business Page.
Make a local connection
Your business will be stronger with community connections. Small Business Week is all about neighbors coming together to shop, celebrate, and explore the local businesses that drive their community.
Make sure your neighborhood knows you’re ready to celebrate with them by engaging in any of the following activities:
- Partner with other businesses – Small Business Week is a prime time to partner up with other small businesses in your neighborhood. Make this week a team effort through cross-promotional materials and let other small businesses know that you’re all in it together.
- Highlight your community members – This Small Business Week, take the time to highlight those in your community who deserve recognition. Whether they’re your customers, team members, local officials, or other upstart entrepreneurs, you can forge a lasting relationship by uplifting the successes of those around you.
Offer sales and discounts
One sure-fire way to encourage customers to shop this Small Business Week is by offering special deals and discounts. You could promote a one-week-long sale for simplicity, but you could also create a different discount every day to provide a range of options for your customers.
Consider the following discount ideas:
- Free gift – Include a special gift with each purchase. These could be small, branded items—such as tote bags or apparel—that offer another way to advertise your business.
- Store rewards – Encourage customers to return after Small Business Week by offering rewards for their next purchase. A gift card or reward system could help drive repeat customers to your business, allowing you to extend the week’s success even further.
- Special support discount – If you’ve already built a loyal customer base, consider offering curated discounts designed just for them. By sending a specialized discount code via email, you could remind customers of their value and give them another reason to shop.
Don’t forget to share your Small Business Week deals online and communicate to your customers exactly when they apply.
Host an event
What’s a celebration without a fun and festive gathering? While Small Business Week is an event in and of itself, you can double up on the festivities and bring more people to your business by planning a local event.
Depending on the nature of your business, different types of events may be more appealing. That said, the following ideas could be a great place to start:
- Game night - Spice up your festivities by planning an event designed for fun and excitement. Sharon Hasty, a local RE/MAX Best Choice broker in Ste. Genevieve, Missouri, had the brilliant idea to team up with local businesses and create a business bingo game offering gift card prizes to frequent customers.
- Charity brunch – Give back to your community by hosting a brunch to raise money for the charity of your choice. Good food and a good cause can make a fantastic combination for Small Business Week.
- Local raffle – There’s nothing like a raffle to bring out locals for a chance to win big prizes. This is the perfect opportunity to further your connections with other local businesses. You can work together to create unique prizes that will have the whole community talking.
Honor your team
It takes a team to find success in a small business. By focusing some of your Small Business Week efforts on your employees and partners, you can re-energize your team and honor their accomplishments.
Make the most of Small Business Week by showing your team what they mean to you and recognizing how they’ve contributed to your business’s success. The following are some excellent ways to show your appreciation:
- Employee highlights – For those that have gone above and beyond the call of duty, congratulations are in order. Consider highlighting members of your team with specialized social media posts, in-office celebrations, and personal rewards to let them know their efforts haven’t gone unnoticed.
- Friendly competitions – Small Business Week is often a time of increased sales and opportunities. Capitalize on your busy week by creating a friendly sales competition and offering rewards to the team members who take the top spot for sales and customer satisfaction.
- Business retreats – You might need to wait until after Small Business Week is over, but a business retreat could be the perfect reward for the team that continually exceeds expectations. Whether it’s a business networking event or a full-fledged vacation, you can further comradery and team-building through a well-organized retreat.
Join Nextdoor to celebrate Small Business Week
These Small Business Week suggestions are just the tip of the iceberg. Don’t hesitate to go even further this year to connect with your community and bring your business the attention it deserves.
For any entrepreneur, Small Business Week is a wonderful way to give your business a boost—but every week counts for your small business. At Nextdoor, we offer the best way to keep in touch with your neighborhood all year round.
Create your free Business Page today and make the holiday week a smashing success with Nextdoor.
