National Entrepreneurship Week (NatlEshipWeek) is a non-partisan, congressionally chartered initiative founded in 2006 that takes place the third week of February annually. NatlEshipWeek democratizes entrepreneurship by empowering all voices of entrepreneurship across the country through education, connection, and collaboration. Ultimately, the effort envisions a national entrepreneurship ecosystem that is as diverse and rich as the citizens that are part of it. This year, NatlEshipWeek will be celebrated February 11-18.
Whether you’re an entrepreneur, ecosystem builder, or educator, there are several ways to engage with NatlEshipWeek programming. Let’s look at five tangible opportunities to engage with the 2023 program:
- Lead an event in your community.
- Engage on social media.
- Advocate for entrepreneurship support.
- Reach out to new connections.
- Navigate Federal entrepreneurship opportunities.
Lead an event in your community. Our national entrepreneurship ecosystem is thriving due to its connections of regional and local ecosystems. Consider hosting an event to spread the impact and importance of entrepreneurship to your stakeholders. This could be as simple as hosting a local entrepreneur guest speaker or facilitating an educational webinar or workshop sharing entrepreneurship resources in your local community. Be sure to submit your event via www.natleshipweek.org/events.
Engage on social media. One of the easiest ways to engage is to show your support on social media! NatlEshipWeek launches an annual social campaign designed to flood social channels with support for entrepreneurship. This year’s Social Media Storm will take place on Wednesday, February 15 from 2-2:30pm EST. Pre-schedule your posts, tweets, live streams, and more to join the movement. Check out NatlEshipWeek’s social tools, including graphics and sample language, for your use at www.natleshipweek.org/social-tools.
Advocate for entrepreneurship support. Entrepreneurs contribute significantly to local and state economies. One of the most powerful tools we can deploy to support them is to seek regulatory support and advocate for entrepreneurship to policymakers. During NatlEshipWeek, educate yourself on how your state is supporting entrepreneurs and check out Start Us Up Now’s America’s New Business Plan, a nonpartisan plan for policymakers focused on building an entrepreneurial economy.
Reach out to new connections. Building strong networks is one of the most cited best practices from successful entrepreneurs. This year, NatlEshipWeek is focusing on providing meaningful networking experiences for key stakeholders, including educators, ecosystem builders and entrepreneurs themselves. Join us for three meetup events focused on networking:
- 2/13 from 1-2pm EST: Entrepreneurship Educators Meetup, led by EntreEd
- 2/14 from 2:30-4pm EST: Ecosystem Builders Meetup, led by Economic Impact Catalyst
- 2/16 from 1-2pm EST: Entrepreneur Learning Corner – Assessing the Financial Impact of Strategic Decisions, led by Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses
Navigate Federal entrepreneurship opportunities. There is a wealth of resources and opportunities available at the Federal level to support entrepreneurship. Ranging from free education to zero equity funding to competitive contracts, NatlEshipWeek is coordinating with Federal agencies to help entrepreneurs navigate these opportunities whether just starting or seasoned in your business. Two days of the 2023 program are dedicated to Federal opportunities and direct support from agency representatives:
- 2/15 from 10am-5pm EST: Federal Agency Office Hours
- Over 15 agencies will be hosting 30-minute office hour sessions to share opportunities and answer your questions.
- 2/17 from 12-3pm EST: SBA Day – Your Business Roadmap
- Join the U.S. Small Business Administration and affiliated business coaches for three informative sessions from how to start to how to scale: <1 years, 1-5 years, and 5+ years.
About National Entrepreneurship Week
Originally founded by the Kauffman Foundation and the National Consortium of Entrepreneurship Education to focus on entrepreneurship education, the annual initiative was relaunched in 2017 to engage the national entrepreneurship ecosystem and highlight the evolving focus on entrepreneurship as a lifelong learning process. For more information, visit www.natleshipweek.org or contact Co-Chair, Amber Ravenscroft, at [email protected].
About The Author
Amber Ravenscroft is the Manager of Innovation for The EdVenture Group, Inc. and Co-Chair of the WV Entrepreneurship Ecosystem and NatlEshipWeek.
