San Francisco Mayor London Breed announced a series of events starting Saturday and going through next Friday to help small businesses on their road to recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
This year’s 17th annual Small Business Week aims to highlight recovery efforts and celebrate the resiliency of the city’s more than 94,000 small businesses, which account for 93 percent of the city’s total businesses.
The theme for this year’s event is Roots of Recovery.
“Over the past year, the COVID-19 pandemic has decimated many of our small businesses. Throughout it all, business owners and their employees have shown tremendous resilience and strength, with many adapting their business models and implementing public health guidelines,” Breed said. “With more businesses and activities reopening and more people getting vaccinated each day, the future of our city is bright.”
The week will consist of informational events, networking opportunities, and business-building workshops that highlight resources available and best practices for heading toward financial recovery.
To celebrate Small Business Week, the city will install 13 large floral butterflies placed throughout the city’s merchant corridors, designed to attract shoppers and foot traffic.
Also, on Saturday, the city will launch its Small Business 30-day Challenge, encouraging residents to shop at local businesses only for the entire month of May. San Franciscans who choose to participate are encouraged to use the hashtag ‘#SmallBizChallenge’ on social media.
“It is so exciting to start to see the city opening up again, and the Small Business 30-day Challenge is a great way to help our small businesses recover,” San Francisco Small Business Commission President Sharky Laguana said. “We all use online stores and services, so it is going to be an interesting challenge to see if we can get by for the month of May by shopping and dining only at our local small businesses.”
More information about San Francisco Small Business Week can be found at www.sfsmallbusinessweek.com.