Small business owners and the communities and customers who love them have until Dec. 5 to nominate New Hampshire small businesses for both the Small Business Administration’s 2025 National Small Business Week Awards and the New Hampshire SBA district awards.
The SBA and the state district office have separate awards, though the state Business Person of the Year is eligible for the national Business Person of the Year award, competing with winners from all 50 states as well as U.S. territories.
The SBA Small Business Week awards honor small-business owners across the country in 14 categories. The New Hampshire district honors small business owners across the state in 11 categories.
The deadline to submit nominations for both is 4 p.m. Friday, Dec. 5.
The awards “recognize the exemplary achievements, triumphs, contributions, and resilience of SBA-assisted individuals and businesses that help to drive the American economy,” the SBA said in a news release announcing the deadline date.
The SBA accepts nominations online on its website, which also has eligibility and other information. It also has a video explaining the awards and what they’re all about. The New Hampshire District Office also has a webpage with information about district awards and how to nominate a business.
In March, Susan Borchert and Betsy Harrison, owners of Counseling Associates of New London, were named the SBA New Hampshire Small Business Persons of the Year.
In all, there were 11 state (district) award-winners named in March in categories Small Business Person of the Year, Home-Based Business, Young Entrepreneur, District Director Award, Veteran Owned, Woman Owned, Minority Owned, Financial Services Champion, Small Business Manufacturer, Family Owned and Micro-Enterprise.
The annual NSBW awards are presented in Washington, D.C., during Small Business Week, which is May 4-10 next year.
“From corner shops to innovation hubs, American entrepreneurs create jobs, invent and provide crucial products and services to their communities, and help define the neighborhoods they serve,” SBA Administrator Isabel Casillas Guzman said in a news release. “The SBA is proud to celebrate National Small Business Week each year to lift up the best of that American entrepreneurial spirit and recognize the many essential contributions all of our small businesses make to our nation.”
Guzman visited New Hampshire last May to kick off a Small Business Week cross-country tour. Highlights from her visit are included in a video on the SBA website.
The SBA is accepting nominations for the following award categories:
- Small Business Exporter of the Year
- Small Business Investment Company of the Year
- SBIC Emerging Manager
- SBIC Established Manager
- Phoenix Awards for Disaster Recovery:
- Phoenix Award for Small Business Disaster Recovery
- Phoenix Award for Small Business Disaster Recovery – Mitigation
- Phoenix Award for Outstanding Contributions to Disaster Recovery, Public Official
- Phoenix Award for Outstanding Contributions to Disaster Recovery, Volunteer
- Federal Procurement Awards:
- Small Business Prime Contractor of the Year
- Small Business Subcontractor of the Year
- Dwight D. Eisenhower Awards for Excellence (for large prime contractors who use small businesses as suppliers and contractors)
- 8(a) Graduate of the Year
It also will present awards to SBA resource partners:
- Small Business Development Center (SBDC) Excellence and Innovation Center Award
- S.C.O.R.E. Chapter of the Year
- Women’s Business Center of Excellence Award
- Veterans Business Outreach Center of the Year
- Surety Bond Agent of the Year