How to Prepare for National Small Business Week (2026)

Small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are the backbone of our economy. They take ‌centre stage at National Small Business Week in May, every year. It’s a beautiful tradition that has been going strong for over 60 years, celebrating the innovation and passion of America’s small businesses. If you’re an SMB owner, this is your golden ticket to connecting with your community, learning from other entrepreneurs and grabbing media and public interest to share your story and products. 

Preparing for this prime opportunity is super important and we are here to help. Let’s explore how to prepare for Small Business Week — spoiler alert: with a little help from artificial intelligence (AI). 

What is National Small Business Week?

National Small Business Week➚, established in 1963, is hosted by the Small Business Administration (SBA)➚  and is celebrated during the first week of May each year. The week typically includes activities such as networking opportunities, educational sessions and award ceremonies to honour outstanding small businesses. It’s a great opportunity for entrepreneurs to learn, connect and gain valuable insights to help their businesses thrive.

With 33.2 million SMBs accounting for 99.9% of all businesses in the U.S.➚, SMBs contribute significantly to economic growth. Running an SMB and contributing to the community is the true essence of the American Dream, which believes in freedom and opportunities through perseverance. Small Business Week celebrates this very spirit, making it a must-attend event for SMBs. 

Key activities at Small Business Week

The week is a mix of events and festivities, including workshops, conferences, webinars and award ceremonies. You can network with other entrepreneurs, attend panel sessions and interact with diverse business leaders, industry experts and government officials. Plus, you’ll get access to various resources and support groups to help you to understand the market landscape, technology advancements and growth strategies.

The SBA also co-hosts a two-day Virtual Summit, a non-profit organisation that offers free business mentorship and consulting services. The summit offers networking opportunities, free resources and expert insights through interactive webinars and exhibit booths. Think of it as a preview of what’s to come to help you to plan your week. 

Big benefits for SMBs

Small Business Week emphasises the impact SMBs from states across the nation create yearly. The goal is simple: encouraging SMBs to discover growth opportunities and connect with potential investors and partners. It rewards their hard work through learning opportunities and awards➚. Besides, it helps solo founders break out of isolation by connecting them with fellow business owners. This creates a supportive community of like-minded people. And, ultimately it helps you to make money. 

Here are some more benefits for SMBs:

• You can gain attention through media, partners and consumers.
• You can access free resources, workshops and training sessions provided by the SBA and other organisations during this week.
• You can build stronger relationships, gather direct feedback from your target audience and connect with potential partners.
• Take advantage of the national spotlight to launch new products, share your story or run special promotions to attract new customers.

Set strong goals for Small Business Week

First, you’ll want to set your goals for the week and how artificial intelligence (AI) can help. Who are you excited to meet at the event? Will you be launching anything new? How do you plan to get customer feedback while you’re there? Which AI tools can help you with marketing? Having answers to questions like these can help you strategise better. AI for small businesses is a blessing. It helps you to set goals that support your long-term business objectives and drive “actual” results. Here are a few ways AI can help. 

Define your goals: Start by defining your goals and being specific about what you want to achieve — whether it’s increasing sales by a certain percentage, gaining followers on social media or launching a new product line. For example, if you’re planning an email marketing campaign, AI can suggest content, subject lines and ideal times for sending emails.

Align objectives with your long-term strategy: AI can predict the long-term benefits of different promotions or initiatives you plan for the week. For example, if you’re measuring a product’s performance, AI can A/B test it and see if it meets yourspecific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-based (SMART) goals.

The good news? AI can make a significant difference. Whether it’s lending a hand with your marketing, personalising your customer outreach or giving you extra minutes in the day by handling routine tasks — AI can help you to work smarter, not harder. It gives you more time to connect with your audience meaningfully.

Use AI for strategic planning

About 90% of SMBs admit AI is making their operations more efficient. Whether marketing campaigns or building your ideal customer profile, AI can help you to make smarter decisions and maximise your impact. Let’s find out how.

• AI can analyse local market trends and competitor activities to spot unique opportunities. It also predicts which promotions and offers resonate most with your target audience.
• AI can create detailed customer profiles based on past purchasing behaviour. It can also identify high-value customer segments for targeted promotions and boost engagement.
• AI can help you to create and personalise multiple content types, such as short-form marketing videos, promotional posters, flyers, stickers and memes. AI can also A/B test different content versions to find what works best and identify the optimum time for maximising engagement.

Make the most of networking and collaboration opportunities

Small Business Week is a huge opportunity to discover potential partners, interact with your target audience and build relationships. Check out these tips for some incredible networking.

• Participate in virtual and in-person events: The SBA hosts various off-line and online events to help you share experiences, learn new strategies and build valuable relationships to grow your business.
• Build partnerships: Collaborating with other SMBs and collaborators can help you to reach new customers and create unique value propositions. For example, a coffee shop and bakery can team up to share customers and foster a substantial community presence.
• Engage with local communities: Your community will always have your back — and you should have theirs. Participate in local initiatives, volunteer, attend workshops and support community causes to build genuine relationships and establish your business as a valued community member.

Tools for your National Small Business Week prep

SMB owners can lose up to 1.5 hours a day switching between multiple tools. That’s why growing businesses prefer using an integrated suite of technology solutions, as it gives them a 360-degree view of their business.

Source: Small & Medium Business Trends Report

Here’s how you can utilise the right tools to take your efforts up a notch up.

The all-in-one customer relationship management (CRM) tool

The good news is, you only need one tool. Customer relationship management (CRM) tools offer comprehensive analytics to help you to track ‌your business’s performance, sales pipeline and financial health. But that’s not it — an AI-powered CRM comes with multiple automation and analytics tools and solutions for sales, marketing, commerce and productivity.

CRM analytics help identify hot leads, predict repeat purchases and analyse user interactions to improve your conversation rate. Plus, it can identify the best times for scheduling email marketing or social media content by tracking when your target audience is most active. 

This is the only tool you need to make your SMB shine during this big week (and beyond). How? We’ll tell you.

More personalised marketing

CRMs help deliver effective marketing by centralising customer data, automating personalised campaigns, tracking interactions and providing actionable insights to optimise targeting and engagement. CRMs that offer AI agents like Agentforce 360 can make your life simpler. Agentforce can run end-to-end marketing campaigns. It can enhance your content and outreach by personalising it according to your customers’ interests, helping you to connect with them on a deeper level.

Starter Suite is the perfect CRM for SMBs because you can hit the ground running from day one. It comes with everything a growing business needs: built-in guidance, integrations and automation across sales, customer service, marketing, and commerce. We’ve kept it simple and small-business-friendly. But don’t just take our word for it — give it a shot during ‌Small Business Week and you’ll see the results. 

Build a powerful online presence

Did you know 8 in 10 users will likely engage with businesses that have a website? It’s a great way of sharing your product offerings, values and brand story. Implementing an effective “About Us” page, fun social media content and a solid search engine optimisation (SEO) strategy can help to put your brand on the map. And the best part? AI can help with everything. Let’s find out how.

• Create a user-friendly website: Your website is your first digital handshake with your customer. AI can help you to build an SEO-friendly and secure website that amplifies your online brand and your users’ love.
• Set up an ecommerce store: Your customers will probably check out your online store after interacting with you at the event. Having an online store will help boost revenue. Explore small business commerce solutions to set up commerce across your operations.
• Boost your brand with SEO: AI can help you to identify trending keywords, optimise content and track performance. For example, AI can detect that “local small business deals” search spikes during the week. This helps you strategise your content accordingly to attract more customers.
• Make the most of social media: Identify the channels your users and target audience use most to create relevant content. AI can help you produce bite-sized content, social media captions and hashtags to make you more discoverable. 

Optimise operations using AI

75% of SMBs now use AI, with more than a third fully integrating it into their daily operations. And if you’ve been wondering how to manage your one-person team or a lean team of resources at the week, AI poses a solution. AI can help you with multiple tasks — from appointment scheduling and inventory management to customer support. This helps you to focus on high-impact activities. During this busy week, AI tools can predict staffing needs, manage stock levels and handle customer enquiries, ensuring smooth operations during peak times. 

Here’s how you can implement AI in your operations.

• You can delegate tasks like scheduling social media posts, managing inventory and processing orders to AI. This helps you to focus on meaningful customer interactions and strategic initiatives that drive real growth.
• You can deploy chatbots or agents in your SMB to streamline customer service, provide 24/7 support and automate social media engagement. Agents can also analyse customer feedback and identify red flags that require human attention.

Get on top of actionable analytics

Using a CRM, you can measure metrics across various touchpoints, including sales, customer engagement, social media reach and website traffic. It analyses your historical data to identify your most effective promotions and activities and recommends strategies for optimising your campaigns. 

Be prepared for Small Business Week with AI

Small Business Week isn’t a marathon — but the start of something beautiful for an SMB owner. With AI as your trusted partner, helping you plan and execute your Small Business Week strategy from start to finish, you only need one tool. A CRM can be your ultimate ally during this week and beyond.

With a CRM for small businesses like Starter Suite, you’ve got sales, marketing, digital shop fronts and customer service covered. And the best part? They’re all powered by AI. 

Start your journey with a free trial of Starter today. Looking for more customisation? Explore Pro Suite. Already a Salesforce customer? Activate Foundations for free.

AI supported the writers and editors who created this article.