In addition to this week being In-Demand Jobs Week in Ohio, it is also National Small Business Week! During this week, the United States Small Business Administration shines a spotlight on our nation’s 30 million small businesses.

National Small Business Week takes place on May 5-11, 2019, and serves to promote entrepreneurs and highlight the work they do. There will be events going on all across the country to spotlight and honor some of our nation’s best small businesses.

These businesses play a huge role in our state and are a driving force for economic growth – though the role they play is sometimes overlooked because, they are in fact, small. However, small businesses are the engines of job creation. In Ohio, there are over 900,000 small businesses which employ almost 50 percent of the state’s private workforce. Nationwide, the same trend exists as small businesses create about two out of every three new jobs each year.

Here at the Ohio Chamber of Commerce, we care a lot about small businesses, as well. In fact, our Ohio Small Business Council (OSBC), comprised of small business owners and leaders from around the state, exists to promote and protect the establishment, growth and vitality of small businesses. OSBC regularly tackles ways to improve Ohio’s regulatory environment, simplify its tax code, and address other challenges caused by state government in order to give small businesses a boost and better chance of survival.