2021 Small Business Week

We’re all Small Business Champions! Let’s celebrate Small Business Month.

I firmly believe that Wichita is made better because YOU have chosen to do business in this great city. So, let’s all approach Small Business Month with intentionality. It’s been a tough year and we need to take time to connect and inspire each other.

The month of May has always been a special month for the Chamber. For sixteen years the Small Business Awards program been the driving connecting point for hundreds of businesses to share wonderful stories, humor and challenges gleaned from building their small business. This year our approach to telling these stories will be through a #SmBizChamps campaign of social media posts and video features throughout May and June. I can’t wait to see the first video later this month!

But today, May 3, 2021, we’re excited to launch a new Small Business Resource page of the Chamber website. The page content was curated with input from the Small Business Committee and we want your input as it continues to evolve. 

As business owners, we have countless issues that require our mental, emotional and physical energy. I encourage you to carve out some time to review the page and invest in your leadership capacity with three objectives:

1. Utilize online learning resources
   Explore the small business resource page for links to data tools, learning toolkits and HR resources. Every Tuesday we’ll highlight a specific resource through our social media.
2. Support and Connect with peers
   • Listen to the Business Accelerator podcast for great business insights and conversation. Reach out to those we’ve interviewed and share your takeaways and commonalities.
   • Connect by attending an event (virtual or in-person). There are several opportunities for one-on-one and small group discussion through Chamber Connections.
   • Watch for more information about the launch of Owner Circles for small businesses. This six-month program will feature curriculum from the Methods platform to inspire you to evaluate and enhance your leadership acumen in a peer cohort setting. Launching summer 2021.
   • Help us serve more businesses by referring a friend to Chamber membership. 
3. Share and celebrate Small Business Stories (#SmBizChamps)
   Take time to tell the community what about this past year of running your business makes you proud. Resiliency? Entrepreneurial fortitude? Maintaining strong employee connections in a remote or challenging environment? Developing a new product or service? Join us as we use the hashtag #smbizchamps to build awareness of these important narratives of the resiliency and creativity of Wichita area small business. 

This Small Business Month, on behalf of the entire Wichita Chamber, I want to THANK YOU for continuing to persevere, dream, climb and invest in your business and the Wichita community. The Chamber is here to support you and build our small business community.

Jen Ray
Owner, The Monarch
Wichita Chamber 2021 Vice Chair for Small Business