Every spring, the Small Business Administration and its resource partners mark National Small Business Week, a tradition that reaches back more than six decades. For firms that sell to the federal government, the week arrives at a useful moment. It falls in the third quarter of the fiscal year, when agencies are shaping the requirements they plan to award before September 30, and it puts small business contracting in the spotlight at exactly the time buyers are doing market research.
A short history of the week
The President has issued a proclamation recognizing National Small Business Week every year since 1963. The timing reflects the broader history of federal small business policy. The Small Business Act of 1953 created the SBA and declared that small firms should receive a fair proportion of government purchases and contracts. A decade later, the annual proclamation gave that policy a public moment each year.
Over time the week grew from a proclamation into a program. The SBA names Small Business Persons of the Year from across the country, selects a national winner and recognizes other kinds of achievement, along with the resource partners that counsel small firms. Events have ranged from award ceremonies in Washington to workshops hosted by district offices, and in recent years many sessions have been offered online. Dates and formats change, so check sba.gov for this year’s schedule rather than relying on past patterns.
Why the timing works for contractors
Agencies are required to consider small businesses during market research, and much of that research happens in the spring. Contracting offices are deciding which requirements can be set aside, which vehicles they will use and how many capable small firms exist in a given industry. Anything that puts your firm in front of a small business specialist during these weeks is well timed.
The week also tends to bring a burst of training, webinars and outreach from SBA district offices, Small Business Development Centers, APEX Accelerators and agency small business offices. Many of these sessions are free, and some feature agency representatives who explain how their organizations buy.
Practical ways to use the week
- Attend at least one session hosted by an agency you want to sell to, and note the names of the small business staff who present.
- Review your SAM.gov registration and your SBA small business profile so that anyone who looks you up after an event sees accurate, current information.
- Refresh your capability statement with this fiscal year’s work before you share it with anyone new.
- Check the status and renewal dates of any SBA certifications you hold, since the fourth quarter is a bad time to discover a lapse.
- Ask your local SBA district office or APEX Accelerator what outreach and matchmaking events are planned for the summer.
Keep the momentum past the week
A week of attention is only useful if it leads somewhere. After the events, send brief, specific follow-up notes to the people you met, tied to something they said about their needs. Add the contacts to whatever system you use to track relationships, and set reminders to check in with something useful before the fourth quarter begins.
National Small Business Week is a celebration, but for contractors it can also be a checkpoint: a reason to confirm that registrations, certifications and marketing materials are ready for the busiest buying season of the year. Firms that treat it that way enter the summer prepared rather than scrambling.