Small Business Week = Economic Development

May 21, 2012

Remember when you used to open up the hood of your car and see all of the small parts? I used to watch my older brother, a car buff and wannabe master mechanic work on his old cars constantly tweaking this or that to make the engine work. Each part had its role in making the engine work properly. Today’s engines are covered so that you can’t see the small parts underneath – usually with the brand name displayed to reinforce the name. All too often the major brands in our economy cover the millions of small businesses that “execute” the tasks of our economy. The manufacturing, moving and serving that has to occur for the larger companies to function.

This is National Small Business Week in the United States, a celebration and reminder of the small businesses that make our engine work properly. This video from the National Federation of Small Businesses reminds us that small business creates two of every three net new jobs. The Small Business Administration celebrates the 28 million small businesses in the United States that keep us working, moving forward, and display American innovation at its very best in our cities and rural areas.

There are great resources in the Columbus Region that advocate for and concentrate on helping small businesses succeed. The Columbus Chamber of Commerce is the largest business organization in the Columbus Region and lists a number of resources. The Columbus Region’s website lists our regional partners across our 11 counties – all of which are valuable resources for those seeking assistance. Finally, if you are a small business or sell to small business – a terrific private business headquartered here in the region — Manta.com — is a terrific resource for connecting and growing.

Let’s keep our economy growing, thanks to all of the small business owners and employees that deliver each and every day!

One Columbus Update
Our team will be in Tel Aviv, Chicago, and New York this week spreading the word about the Columbus Region. We are also hosting our Quarterly Investor’s meeting at Columbus Crew Stadium this Wednesday at 8:00 am. If you would like to attend please RSVP to sb@columbusregion.com today.

Congrats to New Albany for the proposed major expansion of Discover Financial Services highlighted this past week. Discover was the first company to place operations in New Albany Business Park in the 1990s. It is great to see their continuing commitment to the Columbus Region’s workforce!