All week long, small businesses across the U.S. will celebrate the contributions they make to local economies through panels, workshops, talks + networking events for National Small Business Week.

We are so lucky to live in a city where entrepreneurship and small businesses are valued. In fact, small businesses (<50 employees) make up over 85% of the Greenville Chamber’s community of Investors + create 75% of the net new jobs in the Upstate’s economy.

We want to know which GVL small businesses you couldn’t live without. Let us know in the comments on our website, Facebook, or Instagram.

“I would be heartbroken if ____ closed.”

Here are some awesome events going on this month:

To celebrate small businesses, the South Carolina Hispanic Chamber of Commerce is hosting a Small Business Week Social on May 3 + The Greenville Chamber, CommunityWorks, and partners are also hosting the Excellence in Entrepreneurship Small Business Seminar on the same day.

🧘‍Community Yoga Class | Flow Depot at Hampton Station | May 4 | 4:30 p.m. | They will be accepting donations for Momentum Bike Clubs of Greenville, a mentoring outreach program for middle and high school students. | Bring a mat and water then stick around for the First Friday art crawl.

📱Digital Happy Hour | May 4 | Curated Village | For those interested in meeting digital agencies, photographers + small business owners

📘Upstate Board Leadership Summit | May 8 | Furman’s Younts Conference Center | Certified Leadership and Strategy Coach Patrick Jinks joins Together SC for a look at governance through the lens of leadership, centered on vision, inspiration, and empowerment.

🌮Truck Inn Tuesday | May 8 | Swamp Rabbit Inn downtown Greenville | It’s back! Stop by for Auto Taco, King of Pops, live music, and plenty of friends.

🏋‍Beast Mode Games 2018 | May 11-12 | Caine Halter YMCA | 1,000+ people are expected to attend as spectators, athletes, volunteers and vendors from over 10 states | Want to see it for free? Check out the volunteer opportunities.

🍹Collaborators & Cocktails: Publix Brand Marketing | May 16 | Endeavor | Close out the Spring series – and celebrate Endeavor’s 2nd birthday with fun cocktails, a room full of the most interesting people in Greenville, and a presentation that promises to educate, inspire and challenge. | Free for members, $30 for guests

🏛2018 Hispanic Alliance Community Team Summit | May 19 | Dive into solutions for the most pressing needs of the Hispanic community with activities and dialogues facilitated by Mark Bolick and David Esch of Design Thinkers Group. | Free

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿Greenville Scottish Games | May 26 | Furman University | Heavy Athletics, Piping & Drumming, Celtic music, great food, Wee Scotland for the kids, the legendary Military Salute, Glasgow Green Cultural Park, border collies, Gallabrae Scottish Ale, demonstrators, dancers + more. | $7-16

DYK: The weeklong celebration of small business was started in 1963 by JFK? Each year since then, for 54 consecutive years, the current President has declared the dates.

Show some extra love to some small businesses around the Upstate this week – our city wouldn’t be the same without them.

– Jordan

Want to see your event in our newsletter? Head over to the Events Page and let us help you spread the word.