By Maria Valdez Haubrich
Did you participate in National Small Business Week this past year? The Small Business Administration hosts Small Business Week every spring; this past year’s was one of the most successful ever. But the SBA is already getting ready for the 2012 National Small Business Week, which will be held May 20-26, 2012 in Washington, DC. (Click here to get the details about the event.)
As part of National Small Business Week, every year the SBA honors entrepreneurs from every U.S. state and the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, as State Small Business Person of the Year. From those state winners, one National winner is chosen as National Small Business Person of the Year.
The SBA is looking to you to nominate candidates for these honors. Criteria for nominees are as follows:
- Staying power — a substantiated history as an established business.
- Growth in number of employees — a benchmark to judge the impact of the business on the job market.
- Increase in sales and/or unit volume — an indication of continued growth over the last three years.
- Current and past financial performance — financial reports substantiate an improved financial position of the business.
- Innovativeness of product or service offered — an illustration of the creativity and imagination of the nominee.
- Response to adversity — examples of problems faced in the nominee’s business and the methods used to solve them.
- Contributions to community-oriented projects — evidence of the use of his/her personal time and resources.
- If applicable, a description of the products exported and markets served.
After being nominated, nominees can benefit from these SBA Guidelines to help them put together a winning nomination package.
In addition to the Small Business Person/s of the Year, the SBA is also seeking nominations for the following categories:
· Champion Awards honor individuals or organizations dedicated to supporting small businesses in a variety of categories.
· Phoenix Awards for individuals (business owners, volunteers and public officials) whose efforts and contributions have enabled their businesses or communities to recover successfully from a disaster.
To find out more about nominations, as well as learn the full schedule, and about other events at next year’s National Small Business Week, visit the official National Small Business Week website. If you have questions about the nomination process, contact your local SBA District Office.
Image by Flickr user TexasGOPVote (Creative Commons)
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