SBA offers free live webcasts

Town hall and forum topics include social media, exporting and contracting.

Small business owners looking for ways to develop their businesses are invited to take part in National Small Business Week’s free networking and educational forums and dialogue with leading business experts during National Small Business Week, May 20-22 in Washington, D.C.

The free forums include a town hall with SBA Administrator Karen Mills on why small businesses are good for the long-term health of any economy; a social media forum on best practices for putting new media tools to work for small businesses; and an exporting forum on how SBA can help businesses find customers abroad. The schedule also includes sessions on federal contracting, selling to large companies, and business matchmaking with major corporations and government agencies.

The town hall and forum events will be webcast live to allow business owners across the country to participate if they cannot attend in person. While registration is required to attend forums and sessions in person, the live online webcast will be available free at the National Small Business Week website.

The scheduled forums include:

• Town Hall Meeting—Small Businesses Creating an Economy Built to Last
• Exporting Forum—Taking Your Business Global
• Social Media Forum—Join the Conversation (hosts will take your questions in person and on Twitter using the hashtag #SBW2012)
• Federal Contracting Educational Sessions—Small businesses will learn how to market themselves to the federal government and go after government contracting opportunities
• How Small Businesses can win Big with Large Companies—Small businesses will learn how to work with large companies to sell their products.

Source: U.S. Small Business Administration