BATON ROUGE, LA (May 5, 2016) – With National Small Business Week (May 1-7) well underway, the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry (LABI) honors the impact of small businesses and entrepreneurs in Louisiana and encourages everyone to shop and eat at their local small businesses.

“Small businesses step up time and time again throughout the year to help their communities,” Stephen Waguespack, president of LABI, said. “Community commitment is a foundation of their character and a pillar of their business model. It only makes sense that we take the time to appreciate those values and visit their establishments.” Waguespack went on to say that dollars spent in local-owned businesses have three times the impact on our community as dollars spent at national chains.

The U.S. Small Business Administration reports that small businesses represent more than 97 percent of all Louisiana employers and employ more than 54 percent of the private-sector workforce. Moreover, the sales tax generated by these businesses help fund schools, parks, roadways and other vital services.

According to Renee Amar, director of LABI’s Small Business Council, more than 70 percent of LABI’s membership is comprised of small business owners who drive LABI’s policy and advocacy efforts and sit on its board of directors.

“Small business is the backbone of our communities and their contribution to Louisiana’s economic growth is all too often overlooked and taken for granted,” Amar said. “Rather than looking for ways to make it easier to help them grow their business and expand their investment in our communities, government continuously throws new mandates and restrictions on top of them, making their community-enriching mission that much more difficult.”

National Small Business Week is an annual event organized by the Small Business Administration to recognize achievements on the top small businesses in the nation. Since 1963, the president of the United States has issued a proclamation calling for the celebration of National Small Business Week.

About LABI

The Louisiana Association of Business and Industry (LABI) is the largest and most effective business advocacy group in the state of Louisiana, representing more than 2,200 member businesses of every size, in every sector and region.

About the U.S. Small Business Administration

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) was created in 1953 and since January 13, 2012 has served as a Cabinet-level agency of the federal government to aid, counsel, assist and protect the interests of small business concerns, to preserve free competitive enterprise and to maintain and strengthen the overall economy of our nation. The SBA helps Americans start, build and grow businesses. Through an extensive network of field offices and partnerships with public and private organizations, the SBA delivers its services to people throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Guam.