Capping the week will be the National Small Business Week virtual summit, which will run from Monday to Wednesday. The event is available at no cost to both business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs. The summit will provide educational sessions, updates on resources for small businesses and a networking chat room.
Monday’s session, entitled “Getting Back on Track: Resources to Build Back Better,” will provide an overall economic outlook, discuss resilience, accessibility, and e-commerce and walk through government incentives to support and retain employees.
Tuesday’s “Better Serving Small Businesses and Underserved Communities” will discuss women-, Black- and Latino-owned businesses as well as include a presentation from the U.S. Postal Service.
Concluding the summit will be Wednesday’s “Continuance to Support Resilience and Renewal” session. Topics will include lessons learned from the economic recovery, exporting, selling online, adapting brick-and-mortar operations to e-commerce, empowering veteran- and military-owned businesses. The final presentation will examine the resources available at local SBA field offices.
All of the three-day virtual summit’s events will begin at 10 a.m. To register, visit sba.gov/national-small-business-week.
In addition to the national summit, the SBA’s North Dakota District Office is scheduled to host a trio of events.
The first workshop will discuss government contracting with the states of Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota. Topics of discussion will include each state’s purchasing practices, where dollars come from, how dollars can be spent, how to register as a vendor, where to find business opportunities and the states’ expectations for the contractors.
The event will take place at 9 a.m., Tuesday, Sept. 14. To register, visit und.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_7OsujPr0Sf2-N1-gv7r7Vg.
Tuesday’s second event will begin at 3:30 p.m. and discuss doing business with the federal government. The workshop will offer information on SAM registration, business notary, NAIC, representation and certification in addition to providing information on how to find business opportunities with the federal government. Those interested can register at und.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_B5cS52b_QtCnN8jjgS3nyQ.
The final webinar will take place at 10 a.m., Wednesday, Sept. 15, and discuss ShopND.com, a website launched this year to help North Dakota businesses showcase and sell their products. The webinar will discuss how to make the most of e-commerce and provide marketing tips for businesses.
Additionally, Greg Syrup from the North Dakota Small Business Development Center will highlight the media kits businesses can borrow at no cost. The kits include a photo light box for product photography and the tools needed to create business content. Registration for the final webinar is available at und.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_MsEP5mU1QzqtLVuYf1l1dg.