BDC Small Business Week is a national celebration of Canadian
entrepreneurs
Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value in ways that generally entail beyond the minimal amount of risk (assumed by a traditional business), and potentially involving values besides simply economic ones.
An entreprene ...
and their contribution to
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
’s economy. The
Business Development Bank of Canada
The Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC; ) is a Crown corporations of Canada, Crown corporation and national development bank wholly owned by the Government of Canada, mandated to help create and develop Canadian businesses through financing ...
(BDC) has been organizing Small Business Week since 1979.
[Small Business Week's official website. https://www.bdc.ca/en/small-business-week] It takes place every year during the third full week of October. Events held during the week bring together entrepreneurs—and prospective entrepreneurs—at conferences, workshops, luncheons and trade fairs across Canada. The goal is to provide them with opportunities to learn, network, share ideas and socialize with their peers.
[Toronto Star. https://www.thestar.com/business/smallbusiness/article/874675--what-is-small-business-week]
History
Small Business Week began in 1979 when the branches of the Federal Business Development Bank (as BDC was then known) in
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...
’s Lower Fraser Valley organized a week of small business
management
Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a Government agency, government bodies through business administration, Nonprofit studies, nonprofit management, or the political s ...
training sessions for entrepreneurs. They called the initiative Small Business Week.
Employees in British Columbia repeated the experiment the following year and, in 1981, Small Business Week was officially launched nationwide.
[Small Business Week’s official website. https://www.bdc.ca/en/small-business-week]
Impact
The Canadian Chamber of Commerce and local chambers and boards of trade across Canada collaborate with BDC on organizing Small Business Week events. Over the years, other Crown corporations and large companies have also participated as sponsors.
Each year, hundreds of activities across Canada attract thousands of business people to Small Business Week.
Small Business Week has been a registered trademark of the Business Development Bank of Canada since 1986.
In celebration of small business week the Registered Professional Accountants (RPA) hold the annual small business week 'Woman Entrepreneur Awards' wherein a member of the business community is honoured with an award for excellence in business for starting and successfully operating an outstanding small business in their community.
Theme
Each year Small Business Week has a theme reflecting the challenges entrepreneurs face at the time. Here is a list of themes over the past few years:
* 2021→ Seizing the opportunity to build the way forward
* 2017→ Future-proof your business: Adapting to technology and demographic trends
* 2016→ Measure up! Shape your future.
* 2015→ Knock down the barriers. Dare to grow.
* 2014→ Back to Basics. Reenergize Your Business
BDC maintains a national events calendar to publicize local events and inform entrepreneurs about what's happening in their area.
[Small Business Week’s official website. https://www.bdc.ca/en/small-business-week]
References
Business organizations based in Canada
Retailing by time of year
{{Canada-org-stub