Merchant Express® Salutes National Small Business Week 2012

The week of May 20-26 has been designated National Small Business Week 2012, a time for celebrating small businesses and the contribution they make to the American economy. As a merchant services provider that delivers credit card processing products and services to small business owners across the nation, Merchant Express® salutes these entrepreneurs and all that they do for this country.

The annual National Small Business Week Conference, hosted by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) in Washington, D.C., offers educational forums, networking sessions and an awards ceremony recognizing the impact made by outstanding American entrepreneurs and small business owners. This year’s focus is on small business accomplishments, including disaster recovery, procurement and entrepreneurial success.

Topics for this year’s educational forums include strategies and resources for taking your small business global through exporting, tips and best practices for putting social media to work for your business and an open discussion on how small businesses can better position themselves to win federal government contracts.

The panel discussion “How Small Businesses Can Get in Big with Large Companies” will share the secrets to small business success with big business partners. Participating on the panel will be a major retailer (Office Depot), a small business product developer (See Jane Work) and a non-profit small business mentoring organization (SCORE) that will offer solutions from all sides of the equation.

Interested in developing customers abroad? Now’s a good time! U.S. exports soared to $2.1 trillion dollars in 2011, a 15 percent increase from 2010. SBA’s Office of International Trade will present an interactive panel discussion on the opportunities and rewards of exporting for U.S. small businesses. An expert panel of exporters and export service providers will share their success stories.

A series of Business Matchmaking meetings will provide a unique opportunity for small businesses to discuss procurement opportunities with major corporations and government agencies, and obtain insight on specific contract opportunities based on their qualifications.

Businesses interested in government contracts will benefit from the Federal Contracting Educational Sessions. Learn the criteria your company must meet to win federal contracts and ask questions of successful federal contractors.

Finally, don’t miss the Social Media Forum, a great source of tips for making the most of social media and all that it has to offer for your business. One of the fastest growing channels for businesses to connect with existing and potential customers, social media is an invaluable tool for the competitive entrepreneur. Whether you’re new to social media or looking to bump your efforts up a notch, the forum will cover topics like e-mail marketing, blogging, how to incorporate social media into your marketing strategy and how to use Yelp and Twitter to your advantage.

Small business owners who can’t attend the conference in person can follow scheduled events via live-streaming webcasts of key sessions on the event website and by following SBA on Twitter and Facebook.