AEO Celebrates National Small Business Week 2017
May 2, 2017
Dear AEO Community:
We know that the vast majority of businesses in the United States are small but they add up to a big economic impact. Ninety-one percent of all U.S. firms are microbusinesses-those with 5 or fewer employees-but they contribute $1 trillion in revenues to the U.S. economy and provide $172 billion in payroll, according to U.S. Census data.
This week, as we celebrate Small Businesses Week, I want to recognize you, our members, for the significant and critical work you do on behalf of these small businesses. Whether it’s providing access to capital, technical assistance or mentoring, you help small businesses to thrive and grow, including those that otherwise might not succeed.
To help you in sharing the news about small businesses with your own constituencies and communities, we have developed a fact sheet that provides data on the economic impact of small businesses and the need to support them. In addition, among the activities planned for Small Business Week:
• A series of blog posts from community organizations and small business owners. We will post one or two each day.
• Sharing posts from you on your Small Business Week activities on our social media sites. Please post on our Facebook page and/or our Twitter feed using #smallbusinessweek and our Twitter handle @AEOworks so that we can recognize your efforts and share with others
• An AEO blog post on Black entrepreneurs published in HuffPost (formerly the Huffington Post) for you to read and share.
In addition, I wanted to make you aware of a great opportunity for clients of CDFIs who need technical assistance. Our partner, Bench, is offering the webinar Bookkeeping 101 for Small Businesses on May 24, at 11 a.m., PT. Please encourage your clients to participate by sharing this registration link with them.
Thank you again for your support of small businesses, and I look forward to learning about and sharing your initiatives and activities in the coming days.
Connie Evans