Athens Gears up for National Small Business Week

Monday, May 2nd, 2016

It’s National Small Business Week, but there’s really nothing small about it.

The annual celebration of small businesses runs through next weekend, with numerous events planned by the Athens Chamber of Commerce and other local organizations.

There will be discussions on topics pertinent to Athens businesses, a network lunch and party, a happy hour, a job fair and a career expo.

The third annual SoundBoard Marketing Conference also returns Thursday to the Morton Theatre in downtown Athens, bringing together expert presenters from top brands such as Google, Salesforce.com and WordPress Engine to help local businesses improve online marketing and increase sales. SoundBoard is organized by University of Georgia Terry College of Business Entrepreneurship alumni Michael Hamrick and Stephen Rosenberg, business partners in the Athens-based marketing agency Perfect Pitch Concepts.

“The Internet is awash with tools promising great things, but there are few options for really learning how to use them and how to apply fundamental marketing principles to online campaigns,” Rosenberg said. “SoundBoard is an opportunity for Athens’ businesses, nonprofits and entrepreneurs to come together to learn from some of the best in the business and have some fun.”

Small Business Week begins with a community conversation called Shaping the Future of Downtown Athens. The talk is at the RoundSphere on the second floor of 1 Press Place from 7 to 9 p.m. Monday and seeks to answer questions such as what types of businesses you would like the downtown area to attract, what amenities are missing and where you want to see downtown in 10 years.

The chamber will hold a network lunch at Carrabba’s on Tuesday, and the Four Athens Happy Hour is from 6 to 7 p.m. Wednesday at the World Famous. The GroundBridge Local Networking Party is from 9 p.m. to midnight Thursday at Creature Comforts Brewery and is also organized by the team at Perfect Pitch Concepts.

The week ends with the Athens Job Fair & Career Expo from 1 to 5 p.m. at The Classic Center, with 30 employers expected. Last year, more than 800 job seekers attended, and the list of registered employers for this year can be found at www.athensjobfair.com.

Every year since 1963, the president of the United States has issued a proclamation designating a National Small Business Week, which recognizes the contributions of America’s entrepreneurs and small business owners. Occurring the first week of May every year, the week is a time when communities celebrate local small business owners as well as the 28 million small businesses across the country.

Here’s a list of events this week:

Monday

Special Athens Chamber of Commerce event: Shaping the Future of Downtown Athens

RoundSphere, 1 Press Place, floor 2

7 to 9 p.m.

www.facebook.com/events/1581139932214656/

Tuesday

Athens Area Chamber of Commerce Network Lunch

11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., Carrabba’s

www.athensga.com/network-luncheon/

Wednesday

Four Athens Happy Hour