This week, April 29th to May 5th, is recognized as National Small Business Week. Small businesses represent the backbone of industry, and the U.S. Small Business Administration will be recognizing entrepreneurs and small business owners from all 50 states.
National Small Business Week 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.
Next Wednesday, May 9, OSBC will conduct its quarterly meeting, and the agenda includes a conversation with State Rep. Bill Reineke, who will provide insight into how his own small business background has helped him shape public policy at the Statehouse. The meeting will take place in Maumee in northwest Ohio and will be hosted by the Children’s Discovery Center – itself a small business success story. If you’re a small business owner, you’re invited and encouraged to attend! For more information on OSBC’s next meeting, click here.