NEW ORLEANS – More than 40 New Orleans-area small business owners will celebrate Fat Tuesday from Washington, D.C.
The 10,000 Small Businesses Summit: The Big Power of Small Business by Goldman Sachs will be held Feb. 13-14, the largest gathering of small business owners nationwide.
The summit comes after weeks of intense business development classes through the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Program at sites across the country.
Keynote speakers will include Bloomberg founder Michael Bloomberg and Warren Buffett, Chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway.
Small business owners will also have a chance to speak to elected officials. Senators Chris Coons and Tim Scott as well as House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy are set to attend.
“It’s a great chance to engage federal policymakers, not just for tax policy and tariff policy, but also to be able to show what we do for job creation,” said Jeff Cantin, owner of Solar Alternatives in New Orleans and one of the small business owners attending the summit. “Engagement with legislators is one of the more important pieces.”
The summit’s interactive programs will be led by industry leaders and experts about the current economic and regulatory landscape, how to optimize small business growth and best practices for effective hiring.
Program attendees will bring a host of knowledge they learned from the 10,000 Small Businesses program, which covers all business functions tailored to small businesses.
“I learn a lot from other groups of similarly-sized operations—not just other businesses doing solar work, but also construction development or even a small computer company about how they deal with hiring and growing their management teams,” Cantin said. “It seems like a simple idea to hire someone, but it’s extremely complex. The program helped me connect with other business owners to find ways to get really good candidates,” Cantin said.
Since 2010, Goldman Sachs has partnered with Delgado Community College to offer the 10,000 Small Businesses program in New Orleans.
Cantin said that while the program is intensive with a lot of work, he appreciated being able to step away from his business to get a different perspective of long-term sustainability.
“It’s like being given a big toolbelt,” he said.
To apply for upcoming Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Program, click here.
-By Jenny Peterson, Associate News Editor, Biz New Orleans
