On May 4, Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman, head of the U.S. Small Business Administration and a powerful voice for America’s 32.5 million small businesses in President Joe Biden’s Cabinet, joined the “Building a Better America Through Entrepreneurship” bus tour to celebrate National Small Business Week in Georgia.
Guzman joined John Hope Bryant, CEO, and founder of Operation HOPE, to emphasize the importance of small businesses in the city of Atlanta. Atlanta City Council Member Jason Winston was also present at the event, and addressed the group of visitors.
At the end of the event, Bryant and Guzman signed an agreement that will help support and promote millions of Black businesses by 2030, which was an idea that was created during the pandemic. Bryant spoke with rolling out about the impact of this kind of event.
“You can’t describe really how important this is because the backbone of wealth is small businesses,” Bryant said. “Every big business was once a small business. How every big business that we know of and respect today started as an idea in somebody’s kitchen. We don’t appreciate that most people in this country work for a small business.”
“We couldn’t be more excited,” Jason Winston said. “Atlanta is an economic hub for so many entrepreneurs and small businesses, and we’re just excited that the Small Business Administration, their administrator [and] Isabella Guzman, came to Atlanta to kick off this tour because we want to showcase all the great businesses and entrepreneurs that we have right here in Atlanta.”
Small Black businesses are growing in the city of Atlanta, and it’s imperative that they receive the needed resources to build and grow. With an event like this, the sky could be the limit for those businesses. There were numerous Black businesses present, such as Wundergrubs, Eyecandy Creations, and many more.
“Small businesses are super important for the city of Atlanta,” Winston said. “We’ve seen so many African American and minority businesses get an opportunity right here in the city of Atlanta. Our city and economy thrives and runs off the entrepreneurial spirit that we see in the city.”
Bryant and Winston both see the future of small Black businesses taking a step forward, as funding and more resources will become more accessible.
“It’s an opportunity for our people just to hear about this and to understand the resources and to utilize them, and it’s absolutely free,” Bryant said.
“With the influx of financial resources that the SBA is offering, the city of Atlanta is also coming in and offering things such as our resurgence grant, to be able to give dollars and resources to our small businesses,” Winston said. “So we’re only going to continue to see them thrive in Atlanta, as these financial resources are being infiltrated in the city. ”
