National Small Business Week 2023 (NSBW) kicks off from May 1 — May 6, 2023. This annual week-long celebration honors the nation’s small businesses with events occurring nationwide and online. America’s 33 million small businesses should take a BOW and celebrate their hard work and service to their customers.
National Small Business Week was created by the Small Business Administration more than 60 years ago and is co-hosted by SCORE, which provides mentors to America’s small businesses. During NSBW, the SBA recognizes the hard work, ingenuity, and dedication of America’s small businesses and celebrates their contributions to the economy.
National Small Business Week 2023: Advice for New Business Owners
If you are among the 10.5 million people who started a new business last year, celebrate that you are still in business and working towards your financial goals. The best advice I can give new business owners is to focus on these six areas:
1. Never Lose Sight of Your Cashflow
Stay on top of your client’s payment processes. Collect your revenue as fast as possible Use electronic invoices to get paid faster. Don’t give a Fortune 500 company a no-interest loan; make them honor net 30 payments.
2. Work on Keeping Your Customers
An existing customer is much easier to manage than a new customer. Once a client is familiar with you, they are likely to buy again and spend more the second or third time they buy.
3. Give Great Service
Providing great customer service is important because it inspires customer loyalty and makes selling easier. Your business can recover customer acquisition costs, retain talent, and foster brand loyalty by providing great customer service. Providing excellent customer service is required to build a great reputation.
4. Delegate Your Way to Growth
You can only do so much, and even if you think you’re better off delegating certain things yourself, it’s the best thing you can do for your business. As the CEO, you must focus on what you do best and bring more value to the company. Delegating ensures tasks are accomplished even when you’re not around.
5. Leverage Business Apps to Increase Productivity
There are tools and apps to automate or outsource administrative duties like marketing, payroll, and human resources, such as QuickBooks for accounting, AWeber for email, Slack for communication/collaboration, Google Calendar for calendar management, and LinkedIn Sales Navigator for sales outreach.
6. The Right People Make All the Difference
Your business can only grow as far as your two hands can reach, so you need to hire help. Hiring the right employee is key to running and growing a business and cultivating a strong company culture. Be sure to write job descriptions, interview several candidates, and plan to onboard your new employees and train them to be great.
If you follow these six steps, you’ll be well on your way to long-term business success.
National Small Business Week 2023: Free Virtual Events
Interested in celebrating National Small Business Week 2023 with me? Check out some of these incredible online events.
May 2: NSBW Edition of SmallBizChat LIVE
This episode features guests Barry Banther, Michele Phillips, and Dee Bowden. Join at 3pm ET here
May 2-3: SBA Virtual Summit
This virtual summit, which takes place from 11:00am to 6:30pm ET features including Fueling Growth: A Discussion About Accelerating Your Business, Future-Proofing Your Small Business, Cybersecurity & Your Small Business, and the Future of Commerce. Click here to register.
May 3: Live Office Hours with American Express Business
Join me on IG Live at 1 pm ET.
May 3: The 200th episode of The SmallBizChat Podcast
Be sure to listen. I have a special announcement you won’t want to miss.
May 4: Free Webinar: How to Sell and Market Online.
Join me at 5 PM ET so I can break down all the secrets to growing an eCommerce business. Register here.
May 5: It’s Cinco de Mayo!
Go to your favorite Mexican restaurant with friends or your staff. Have a great meal and drinks to toast National Small Business Week 2023 while supporting a local small business.