There are a several holidays that we celebrate in the United States, and most of them make some impact for business owners. Whether it is an electrician performing maintenance on a fuse box to keep the holiday lights on or a dentist performing a check-up right after Halloween, none make the biggest impact quite like Small Business Week happening this year from May 4th through the 10th.
For more than fifty years, we have been celebrating National Small Business Week and supporting local businesses throughout the month of May, giving us a chance to honor and support the small business movement that is the backbone of the American dream and the entrepreneurs behind it. Small businesses make up over thirty million of the businesses in the U.S. and are major contributors to the local and national economies.
It was their contribution that was on President John F. Kennedy’s mind when he enacted a proclamation to celebrate small businesses every year on the first week of May. The year was 1963.
As America entered the Countercultural decade, farm fields were giving way to an industrial society, the now famous golden arches were sprouting up along highways, and unemployment was still a major concern for the country when John F. Kennedy was elected president with the slogan, “Getting American Moving Again.”
Working through strained situations such as the Big Steel price crises, tax cuts, and the 1950 recession, President Kennedy saw a need to celebrate those who have brought millions of jobs to their local communities and commemorate the work these entrepreneurs have done and continue to do. Paired with the mission of the Small Business Administration (SBA) created in 1953 by the Federal Government, the celebration of National Small Business Week was inaugurated and is now a national recognition event.
Recently, the New Boston Special Industrial Development Corporation (SIDC) and Community Development Commission (CDC), along with the City Council, adopted the Forward New Boston economic development plan. The SIDC and CDC will be using the plan as the base document for a new approach for budgeting in New Boston, a performance based approach.
By linking the budget numbers to implementing the Forward New Boston plan, citizens can see where their economic development funds are going and can quantify the results. By using the Forward New Boston plan, the action items are spelled out and transparent to citizens, elected/appointed officials, local businesses, and developers.
Another item which generates a performance budget approach is the adopt and link goals and actions to an organization’s mission and vision statements. SIDC and CDC recently have adopted both: Mission Statement The mission of the New Boston Special Industrial Development Commission and Community Development Commission is to preserve our hometown atmosphere with a spirit of cooperation between businesses, local government, schools, churches, regional development partnerships and residents, through existing business retention and expansion, proactive business recruitment, downtown improvements, historical preservation, tourism and community development activities, providing a full life-cycle residential base, our local community will culturally and economically be a leader of our region.
Vision Statement The vision of the New Boston Special Industrial Development Commission and Community Development Commission is to be a leading catalyst for sustainable economic growth, providing housing opportunities for a full-life cycle, a partnering and caring community attracting a diverse economic ecosystem supporting both small, medium and large businesses, fostering a skilled workforce, empowering entrepreneurs to create a thriving future for our community and region while continually building a resilient and inclusive economy and quality of life.
Have an awesome National Small Business Week and to celebrate, remember to Shop New Boston 1st!
