National Small Business Week is a national recognition event to honor the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...

' top

entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value. With this definition, entrepreneurship is viewed as change, generally entailing risk beyond what is normally encountered in starting a business, which may include other values th ...

s each year. The distinguished group of

small business Small businesses are types of corporations, partnerships, or sole proprietorships which have fewer employees and/or less annual revenue than a regular-sized business or corporation. Businesses are defined as "small" in terms of being able to ...

owners are hailed each year by the U.S. Small Business Administration and a collection of event co-hosts. The 2013 event marks the 60th anniversary of the agency, and the 50th annual

Presidential proclamation A presidential proclamation is a statement issued by a US president on an issue of public policy and is a type of presidential directive. Details A presidential proclamation is an instrument that: *states a condition, *declares a law and requir ...

of National Small Business Week.

Honors

Annual honors include: The National Small Business Person of the Year, selected from the 54 State Small Business Persons of the Year. The Phoenix Awards, recognizing a

public official An official is someone who holds an office (function or mandate, regardless whether it carries an actual working space with it) in an organization or government and participates in the exercise of authority, (either their own or that of their su ...

, a business owner and a

volunteer Volunteering is a voluntary act of an individual or group freely giving time and labor for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergency rescue. Others serve ...

whose efforts have helped their businesses or communities recover successfully from a disaster. The Lender of the Year, honoring

financial institution Financial institutions, sometimes called banking institutions, are business entities that provide services as intermediaries for different types of financial monetary transactions. Broadly speaking, there are three major types of financial inst ...

s, including those that provide financing for small business exporters and inner city businesses. The Entrepreneurial Development Awards, honoring Small Business Development Centers, Women's Business Centers and SCORE for their

innovation Innovation is the practical implementation of ideas that result in the introduction of new goods or services or improvement in offering goods or services. ISO TC 279 in the standard ISO 56000:2020 defines innovation as "a new or changed enti ...

and excellence in assistance to

s and small businesses. The Dwight D. Eisenhower Award for Excellence, recognizing large

prime contractor A general contractor, main contractor or prime contractor is responsible for the day-to-day oversight of a construction site, management of vendors and trades, and the communication of information to all involved parties throughout the course of ...

s who have excelled in their utilization of small businesses as suppliers and

subcontractor A subcontractor is an individual or (in many cases) a business that signs a contract to perform part or all of the obligations of another's contract. Put simply the role of a subcontractor is to execute the job they are hired by the contractor ...

s. The Small Business Prime Contractor and Small Business Subcontractor of the Year, honoring small businesses that have provided government and industry with outstanding goods and services as prime or sub contractors. Small business owners from across the country will be honored for their accomplishments as the nation's leading small businesses, culminating in the announcement of the National Small Business Person of the Year. On the final day of National Small Business Week, State Small Business Person of the Year winners from across the country meet in Washington, D.C. to see which of them will be named National Small Business Person of the Year. The National Small Business Person of the Year and runners-up will be selected from among the 54 state small business winners, including the

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, the

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, and

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. Small businesses being honored in 2013 reflect a wide range of businesses, from high-tech startups and communications firms, to a printing company and a helicopter pilot school. In addition to the State Small Business Persons of the Year, men and women involved in

disaster recovery Disaster recovery is the process of maintaining or reestablishing vital infrastructure and systems following a natural or human-induced disaster, such as a storm or battle.It employs policies, tools, and procedures. Disaster recovery focuses on ...

government procurement Government procurement or public procurement is the procurement of goods, services and works on behalf of a public authority, such as a government agency. Amounting to 12 percent of global GDP in 2018, government procurement accounts for a sub ...

, small business champions, and SBA partners in financial and entrepreneurial development will be honored. The small business community nationwide can take part in Small Business Week by participating in

Google+ Google+ (pronounced and sometimes written as Google Plus; sometimes called G+) was a Social networking service, social network owned and operated by Google. The network was launched on June 28, 2011, in an attempt to challenge other social netwo ...

hangouts and watching selected programming of the week's events via live stream at www.SBA.gov/NSBW. The site includes information on small business honorees, event co-sponsors, schedule of events and press materials. More information about the U.S. Small Business Administration can be found online at http://www.SBA.gov. Links: National Small Business Week Website: http://www.sba.gov/nsbw SBA Website: http://www.SBA.gov Entrepreneurship organizations Awareness weeks in the United States April observances May observances