National Small Business Week launched in style at Twitter’s San Francisco headquarters yesterday, kicking off a week of speeches, panels and workshops across the country celebrating entrepreneurship. Here’s a sample of what you might have missed so far.
1. An adorable 10-year-old entrepreneur. Vivienne Harr stole the show at the San Francisco kickoff. The founder of Make A Stand, a lemonade business that raises funds to wipe out childhood slavery, shared her charming “lemonade lessons” at the Twitter kickoff in a sequined dress and pigtails. She reminded attendees to think like a kid – not a grownup – since kids don’t see the obstacles. And though she’s had her share of hard days running her business she’s learned to work through them. “It’s what you do with them that counts,” she says.
2. Launch of Google Small Business. This Google+ community was officially launched Monday, creating a space where entrepreneurs can connect with each other and experts through the company’s social platform. It also features a special collection of Helpouts, enabling one-on-one video calls with experts to connect small-business owners with gurus in marketing, web design and other fields for quick questions.
3. Millions in funding available for accelerators. The Small Business Administration announced a special competition that will make 2.5 million available to startup accelerators around the country. Accelerators supporting manufacturing or minorities should take special note.
The week’s not over, of course. Check back to Entrepreneur for more updates and links to great resources you can use long after Small Business Week is over.
