Why You Should Care: BE Enterpreneurs Conference, NATL Small Business Week Share Week

A celebration of small businesses and burgeoning entrepreneurs lights up the country this month beginning the week of May 12 when both the National Small Business Week and the 2014 Black Enterprise Entrepreneurs Conference will be in effect.

The National Small Business week organized by the U.S Small Business Administration starts out May 12 in San Francisco and then spreads across other cities including Boston, Kansas City and the Nation’s capital.

The 2014 Black Enterprise Entrepreneurs Conference starts off with a bang Wednesday May 14th in Columbus, Ohio and runs through Saturday May 17th.

If you are in Ohio or any of the four other cities that week, and you have a business or business aspirations, these are must-attend events.

And if you’ve been harboring a secret desire to get in the game here are several reasons why you should care.

First off the list: The big opportunities available for small business owners.

Network, Network, Network: Your small business will go nowhere fast unless you talk to and learn from the right people. NSBW opens in some of the nation’s largest cities. The Black Enterprise Entrepreneurs Conference is in Ohio. Utilize the opportunity.

Keep your eyes open and your ears to the ground: National Small Business Week and the B.E.E.C features a mix of awards ceremonies, networking events, Business and Start-ups discussion forums and inspirational pep talks by leading politicians and business executives.

Doing business with the government: One of the four venues for National Small Business week is in the nation’s capital. Is there a better place to hear from key leaders on some of the critical issues impacting small businesses? There may be, but you could do a lot worse than Washington DC. Bottom line is it permeates Washington at some of the highest levels. You should be taking advantage.

Going Global: It takes a village. If you are thinking of bringing your small business into the global village, it is a priceless opportunity to share ideas and unique insight when you meet and mingle with like minds at many of the events being planned.

A New Era in Health Care: The Affordable Care Act has ushered in a new era for doing business in all things health related. Is there a better way to hit the ground running than learning first-hand from those in the know? Don’t miss out on valuable information that could change your business.

Secretary of State John Kerry once described National Small Business Week to CNN as “a time to insist on actions not just words to help the small businesses which created more than nine out of 10 new jobs over the past 15 years. These small business owners are out there everyday in today’s tough economic climate where it’s harder and harder to afford the energy bills, pay for health care for their employees, and expand their payrolls.”

Well put, Mister Secretary, but it is incumbent upon potential small business owners to hold him to it.

The Black Enterprise Entrepreneurs Conference offers a chance for unparallelled networking and hospitality at this one of a kind, only once a year, meet and greet extraordinaire.

Highlights include a One-on-One Conversation Breakfast at the Regency Ballroom hosted by Nationwide Insurance.

Moderators at events hosted through Wednesday include Kingonomics Author, Rodney Sampson.

Also on the list of moderators Michael Stone, Founder & Executive Director, Professional Athlete Franchise Initiative. Areas of expertise you can expect to learn more about include, learning how to raise badly needed capital to lift your start-up off the ground, How to scale your company, How to win Corporate clients and a chance to attend a small business boot camp.

It’s your one chance to become a small Business Success story.

Plus be sure to be on the lookout for BE’s Exclusive one-on-one conversation with master communicator, philanthropist and multidimensional business leader TD Jakes.

Black Enterprise will also honor the Reverend Jesse Jackson for his humanitarian and Civil Rights work with his group the Rainbow/Push Coalition.

President Obama put it this way, “For centuries, America’s progress has been driven by pioneers who think big, take risks, and work hard. Where their ideas take root, we find inventions that can change the way we live. And when their businesses take off, they fuel an engine of economic growth and job creation that moves America forward. During National Small Business Week, we celebrate the generations of entrepreneurs who have given their all to realize a dream, and we renew our promise to help their businesses grow, hire, and succeed”.

So where will you be the week of May 12?