Colorado Business Roundtable knows that small business has a significant impact on all businesses, including the large companies that comprise the national Business Roundtable. This week, we have celebrated and supported National Small Biz Week and invite our readers to continue to do so -- it's only Thursday, after all!
Join the conversation at @ColoradoBRT #DreamSmallBiz
Our capital city of Denver welcomed U.S. Small Business Administration's Administrator Maria Contreras-Sweet on Wednesday, May 4 to kick-off day four of the National Small Business Week celebrations that are happening across the nation May 1-7. SBA Regional Administrator Betsy Markey joined Contreras-Sweet to officially welcome the national event to Denver and the Rocky Mountain Region. While in Denver, Contreras-Sweet participated in a Celebrating Women in Small Business forum with Colorado’s prominent women entrepreneurs and leaders followed by an awards luncheon and a Latina’s in Business discussion at Azucar Bakery in Denver. See original release and check out the livestream events as well as webinars here.
Learn more about Betsy Markey, the Former Colorado Congresswoman who was appointed as the Regional Administrator of the SBA's Region VIII in January 2016. The region is based in Denver and covers the states of Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah and Wyoming, serving over 875,000 small businesses.
Last week, we had Tim Gaudette as a guest on COBRT's Connect and Collaborate Radio. Gaudette is the Colorado Outreach Manager for Small Business Majority, a national small business advocacy organization, founded and run by small business owners to focus on solving the biggest problems facing small businesses today. On the show, Gaudette discussed next week's Small Business Summit in Washington D.C. as well as other topics for small business owners such as access to capital, predatory lending, nondiscrimination and benefits. Click the player below to stream the podcast, or click download to save and listen later.
Also from the Small Business Majority, we report that the organization released on May 4, 2016 a scientific opinion poll showing the vast majority of small business owners in Colorado oppose proposed legislation allowing lenders to increase the interest they can charge on a $3,000 consumer loan. See the report, "Colorado Small Businesses Strongly Oppose Raising Loan Interest Rates."
Tomorrow, May 6, 2016 the Denver Office of Economic Development invites you to "Meet Your Maker!" From 3-6 p.m., InkMonstr Graphic Design & Printing (at 2721 W. Holden Place) has invited local manufacturers of cool gear to showcase Denver’s active lifestyle industry. This is the final in a series of events for National Small Business Week. See all.
Keep the momentum of Small Biz Week going next month with the Colorado Rockies. Colorado Small Business Development Center Network (CSBDC) invites you to its 3rd Annual Small Business Night at Coors Field on June 23. CSBDC is dedicated to helping existing and new businesses grow and prosper in Colorado by providing free and confidential consulting and no- or low-cost training programs. CSBDC has locations around the state with a team of business experts ready to help you create and retain jobs, secure loans, increase sales, win government contracts, obtain certifications and more.
As COBRT has reported in the past two weeks, CSBDC along with several statewide small businesses, community organizations and financial institutions, launched a new website in honor of this year's Small Business Week. The website, www.coloradosmallbizweek.com, serves as the one place where Coloradans can find all the events and celebrations in honor of small businesses in specific communities across the state.
For more on the national perspectives and policies affecting small business, check out the website and resources for the U.S. House Small Business Committee. Get the latest news and learn more about its key priorities: tax simplification, regulatory reform, increasing trade, access to capital and small business contracting.
COBRT has a unique and continued commitment to small business in that our president, Jeff Wasden, is on the Board of Trustees of the National Small Business Association, the nation’s oldest small-business advocacy organization, and operates on a staunchly nonpartisan basis. As we reported in February 2016, this is Wasden’s second time serving in an executive role for NSBA. He originally served on their national leadership council representing Colorado’s sixth district through the family business he co-owns.
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) encourages small-business owners and self-employed individuals to check out several products to help them understand and meet their tax obligations. See the list here. Topics and tools include Payments to Independent Contractors, Simplified Home Office Deduction and The Small Business and Self-Employed Tax Center.