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Small Business Majority will host its inaugural Small Business Leadership Summit May 11-13, 2015, where it will bring more than 100 small business leaders from across the country to our nation’s capitol to interact with policymakers, issue experts and senior members of the Obama Administration to identify and discuss policies that will help small businesses. Small business owners will hear directly from Maria Contreras-Sweet, Administrator of the Small Business Administration, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) about key policies impacting the small business community.
“Being chosen as one of the small business owners to attend this year’s Summit allows me a unique opportunity to discuss important issues facing my small business and other entrepreneurs today,” said John Royster, president and CEO of Big Muddy Workshop in Omaha, Nebraska. “Voicing our needs and concerns directly to policymakers and other experts is a critical step in getting Washington to pay attention to our No. 1 job creators—small businesses. I am honored to attend this year’s Summit and will proudly represent Nebraska’s small business concerns, and advocate on behalf of our hardworking entrepreneurs and innovators.”
With its theme “Shaping the Future of the American Economy,” the Summit will feature panel discussions, keynote speeches, interactive workshops and presentations by industry experts and successful entrepreneurs. The first panel discussion on Tuesday, May 12 at the National Press Club, will look at the hurdles small businesses must overcome to access capital, expanded opportunities that exist with traditional lenders, the new class of online lenders and how we can protect small businesses from unscrupulous lenders while getting them the capital they need to thrive. The second panel of the day will tackle tax and economic policies lawmakers should be pushing that directly impact small businesses. Other discussions will revolve around crowdfunding, women’s entrepreneurship, minority entrepreneurship, the freelance/microenterprise economy, technology and workforce issues.
Following the Summit, policy recommendations identified during these discussions will be incorporated into Small Business Majority’s policy platform—the Small Business Economic Agenda for 2015-16—and will be shared with decision makers to elevate issues of importance to small business owners.
“This Summit will allow small business owners to engage directly with policymakers to discuss the issues shaping our economy and identify pragmatic policy recommendations to help them thrive,” said John Arensmeyer, Founder & CEO of Small Business Majority. “We’ll hear from real entrepreneurs—from all walks of life and all areas of the country—about the issues affecting their business and their bottom lines, and work with policymakers to advance legislation that will bolster small business and remove barriers to success.”
The Summit will focus on top issues of importance to small business, including but not limited to:
- Access to capital and how to ensure small businesses obtain capital necessary to grow and strengthen their firms in a responsible and sustainable manner
- Tax policy to spur small business/economic growth while leveling the playing field and ensuring fairness
- Critical workforce issues impacting small businesses today such as healthcare, minimum wage family medical leave and retirement savings
- Technology and how small businesses can adopt and learn new solutions to old challenges
- The impact of freelancers on the economy and how the U.S. can update policies that address the needs of this new workforce
For more information about the Summit, please visit: www.sbmleadershipsummit.com
For interviews with Small Business Majority staff or small business owners attending the Summit, please contact Kelsey Bye at (202) 289-0957 or kbye@smallbusinessmajority.org
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Small Business Majority is a national small business advocacy organization, founded and run by small business owners to focus on solving the biggest problems facing America’s 28 million small businesses today. We actively engage small business owners to drive smart public policy and get entrepreneurs the resources they need to thrive. We conduct extensive opinion and economic research and work with our rapidly growing network of 40,000 small business owners across the country to ensure their voices are an integral part of the public policy debate. Learn more about us on our website and follow us on Twitter and Facebook.
