10 Ways to Make Small Business Week Count

It's nearly the end of BDC Small Business Week^TM  (Oct 20-26), and besides talking to myself, I haven't had one conversation about the state of small business, their value to our communities, or participated in a learning opportunity or networking event! Not for lack of time, but rather for lack of attention.

This got me thinking that it really is important to take note of small business.  

We all know that if we don't use local small business, we lose them. We lose a resource, and option, an employer, and a bit of character in our towns.  

So, how do Canadians show their "support" for small business besides the obvious "Shop Local, Buy Local" programs?



Perhaps small business and consumers could do more and maybe they just need some ideas. So below are 10 ideas for showing that small businesses matter. Please add your ideas as a comment to this blog, retweet, take any of the actions below, and let me know what you did to help celebrate Small Business Week!

1. Go to a Chamber of Commerce event and talk to representatives at as many of the business display booths as possible;
2. Use hashtag #SBW2013 on Twitter and tweet your "thanks" to a favourite local business for their excellent service, variety, sale, coupon, gift etc;
3. Post a recommendation on a business adviser/ consultant's Linked In page;
4. Go to Yelp and write a review about a restaurant you ate at this week;
5. Go to a business's Facebook or Google + page and share it to a few of your friends with a comment on why you support this particular business;
6. Give a free tutorial to a start-up business on a technology you use;
7. Make an in-person referral to a friend about a small business where you shop or pass along a lead to a business contact;
8. Watch a how-to-improve-your-business video on You Tube and share it with a friend;
9. Take a small business owner out for lunch; Check in using FourSquare and leave a dining tip.
10. Call a new vendor and ask for a quote.

Let me know how many of these you get done and share any other ideas for supporting a Small Business.