Small Business Week, 2011

Proclamation 8673 of May 12, 2011

Small Business Week, 2011

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

Our country started as an idea, and it took hard-
working, dedicated, and visionary patriots to make it a
reality. Successful businesses start much the same
way--as ideas realized by entrepreneurs who dream of a
better world and work until they see it through. From
the family businesses that anchor Main Street to the
high-tech startups that keep America on the cutting
edge, small businesses are the backbone of our economy
and the cornerstones of America's promise.

Throughout our economic recovery, persevering small
businesses have helped put our country back on track.
Countless new and saved jobs have come from small
businesses who took advantage of tax relief, access to
capital, and other tools in the Recovery Act, the Small
Business Jobs Act, and other initiatives launched by my
Administration to put Americans back to work. To ensure
the stability of our recovery, we must continue to
provide new opportunities for small business owners and
the next generation of entrepreneurs, who will help us
out-innovate our global competitors to win the future.

To support high-growth businesses, my Administration
has launched Startup America, an initiative that will
strengthen access to capital and mentoring while
reducing barriers to growth for small businesses.
Entrepreneurship is essential to the strength and
resilience of our economy and our way of life. Startup
America will give entrepreneurs the tools they need to
build their business into the next great American
company. To encourage innovation, we released the
Strategy for American Innovation, a report outlining my
Administration's plan to harness ingenuity. This means
investing in the building blocks of innovation, like
education and infrastructure, while promoting market-
based growth through tax credits and effective
intellectual property laws.

The National Export Initiative is working to open
markets to American businesses and support small
exporters, who increase American competitiveness abroad
and create good jobs here at home. We continue to
create opportunities for businesses in underserved
communities through new lending initiatives, expanded
access to counseling, and technical assistance. We are
also working to provide small businesses more
opportunities to compete for Federal contracts. This
gives Federal agencies access to some of our country's
best products and services while helping these
businesses grow and employ community members. Through
these and other initiatives, we are supporting the
entrepreneurs and small businesses that provide work
for half of American workers and create two out of
every three new private sector jobs.

Small businesses embody the promise of America: that
if you have a good idea and are willing to work hard
enough, you can succeed in our country. This week, we
honor and celebrate the individuals whose inspiration
and efforts keep America strong.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the
United States of America, by virtue of the authority
vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the
United States, do hereby proclaim May 15 through May
21, 2011, as Small Business Week. I call upon all
Americans to recognize the contributions of small
businesses to the competitiveness of the American
economy with appropriate programs and activities.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
twelfth day of May, in the year of our Lord two
thousand eleven, and of the Independence of the United
States of America the two hundred and thirty-fifth.