Apparently, Small Business Week is upon us. I didn’t notice it creeping up because around here every week is small business week. That’s all we do.
According to some fantastically shallow articles the point of Small Business Week is to celebrate the contributions of small businesses to their communities. And they’re kind of right, of course, because entrepreneurship drives job growth, increases tax bases, and creates opportunities for innovation. What is the point of recognition without tangible support, though?
Naming a week in honor of small businesses and pretending that helps small business owners is insulting. It cheapens the daily grind that small businesses owners live with in order to make their businesses work and it neglects the other stakeholders involved in the process. Any small business owner with a family, friends, or pets counting on them knows the compromises made to keep all the balls in the air. Being a good human and a good parent or friend is a full-time job. Being a small business owner on top of that is straight up insanity. Insanity of the very best kind, but it comes at a cost.
Entrepreneurs are brave, creative, and driven. They’re also isolated, worried, and shouldering tremendous loads. So instead of a pointless week full of ill-informed lip service ABOUT entrepreneurs let’s try something that’s actually FOR entrepreneurs. Let’s get in the trenches and help them, every single day of the entire year. Let’s provide them with the very clearest advice, most helpful referrals, and productive assistance.
Let’s identify their individual needs because there’s no such thing as a paper doll entrepreneur you can just slap new hats on. Let’s show up for them and allow them to show up for their clients and stakeholders at home. And let’s never forget that the tremendous impact small businesses have on their communities is a joyously beautiful side effect of their formation. At the end of the day, they exist to serve their owners. Let’s make sure the rewards flow both ways.