Small Business Week 2018 occurs from April 29 to May 5, with the purpose of highlighting the remarkable contributions of American entrepreneurs and small businesses across the country. The event is hosted annually by the U.S. Small Business Administration, which was created in 1953 to help Americans start, build and grow businesses.
So, what’s the reason for the celebration you ask? The impact of small businesses on a national scale cannot be understated. The SBA defines a small business as a business with 500 employees or fewer. Under this distinction small businesses account for a staggering 99.7% of all firms with paid employees and generate more than half of all US sales! On top of that, over 50% of Americans either work for or own a small business, and they account for about 2 out of every 3 new jobs in the United States each year.
Merchology: a small business story
We at Merchology are proud of our small business roots. Dick Ward and Nolan Goodman co-founded Merchology in 2013, leveraging Dick's 29 years and Nolan's 8 years of experience in the promotional products and incentive industries. One of their first moves after founding the company was to hire on Dick's daughter, Ally Delgado, and son, Andrew Ward to serve as CMO and COO of the company. This turned their small business into a small, family-run business. Dick, Andrew and Ally were recently featured on the Dynasty Leadership podcast, a podcast designed to help small businesses overcome hurdles and grow effectively. They discuss what makes Merchology different, as well as what it's like to work with family. Did you know that family-owned and operated companies like Merchology account for about 1 in 5 small businesses?
At Merchology it is our mission to help small businesses like yours spread their brand far and wide with co-branded custom apparel and promotional products from brands you know and love. One way we do this is by putting people first. It is our goal to make customers feel special, which is why we offer complimentary logo setup, free decoration, and free shipping with fast turnaround times, and a dedicated customer service representative for each and every customer.
Around the Merchology Community
Merchology is proud to serve thousands of small businesses around the country, helping them build and promote their brands through awesome co-branded swag. Below we’ve featured a few of our small business customers and their custom logo apparel!
The team at Aleman & Sternstein Orthodontics in Springfield, Illinois seems to be having a blast in their custom embroidered BAW Women’s Royal Dry-Tek Quarter Zips.
FCIS Insurance in Forrest City, Iowa makes selling insurance look great in their sharp customized quarter zips from our Under Armour corporate apparel collection.
Michigan-based production company JellieFish Productions chose these custom hats as the canvas for their embroidered corporate logo.
Follow Along with National Small Business Week
The Small Business Administration provides a few easy ways to get involved with small business week. This year the SBA will host a 3-day Virtual Conference that is completely free to the public. The virtual conference will take place from May 1st to May 3rd and will feature 12 small business focused webinars.
Other events to keep an eye on are the #SmallBusinessWeek Hackathon and National Awards Ceremonies. No matter how you choose to celebrate, the most important thing is to recognize the incredible impact and contributions small businesses make all year long.