The Facts
We’d be willing to bet you own a small biz, work for a small biz, shop at a small biz. know a small biz… or know someone who does. With 97% of businesses in Arizona classified as small (500 employees or less), it’s not surprising. What you may not know, though, is that small business is the state’s largest employer, employing 45 percent of the private-sector labor force. In fact, more than half of Americans either own or work for a small business, and they create 60-80 percent of new jobs in the country. Now, that’s job creation and retention if we’ve ever seen it.
So, I guess you could say, supporting small biz is all of our jobs. We hope you agree.
The Movement
The ThinkSmallBiz movement provides a powerful and engaging platform to encourage consumers, businesses, and public officials to support and patronage small businesses, with the goal of strengthening economic stability by increasing sales, tax revenue and securing and creating jobs. The basic message is before you make a purchase decision, or legislative decision, we encourage you to ThinkSmallBiz. Ok, that sounds great, but how do we getit done?
Statewide media and grassroots marketing campaign:In January 2015, the Arizona Small Business Association, along with our partners, will be launching an extensive media and grassroots marketing campaign to encourage everyone to “ThinkSmallBiz”.
ThinkSmallBiz Directory:
ThinkSmallBizAZ.com is a public-facing online directory of small businesses. All small business with 500 employees or less, with at least one location in Arizona, are invited to create a FREE listing on the directory. The statewide media campaign will drive businesses and consumers to this directory.
ThinkSmallBiz.org Online Small Biz Community:
Launching in Spring 2015, ThinkSmallBiz.org will be THE hub for all things small biz – free social media profiles, small business events, news and articles, and much more.
The Call to Action
It takes a village to … support a small business. That’s where you come in! Help support the ThinkSmallBiz movement, and small businesses.
Small Businesses: Be sure you can be found! Create your FREE basic profile listing on the ThinkSmallBiz Directory by visiting thinksmallbiz.org.
Chambers, Associations, and others who support small biz: We have exciting opportunities to partner and support your small business members!
Corporate Partners: Consider becoming an official sponsor of the movement and showing your support for the small business community and your small business clients.
Everyone with a pulse: UseThinkSmallBizAZ.com as your first stop for purchasing decisions, and remember to spread the ThinkSmallBiz message.
For more information on any of these opportunities, contact Rhette Baughman at rbaughman@asba.com or 602-306-4000.
Kristen Wilson is the COO of the Arizona Small Business Association.
