The Dream Big Small Business of the Year Award Goes To…

by Brad Peck

This is my favorite session of each America’s Small Business Summit, hearing the stories and seeing the emotion and dedication our small business owners bring to their life’s work. That and the fact that our National Anthem always chokes me up a little bit, particularly when there are no Orioles fans present (regional joke).

Chamber Chair Bob Milligan introduced Brian Cornell from Sam’s Club, sponsor of the award, who said he was amazed at the stories he heard at the Summit, and how evident it was that small business does indeed dream big. Small business exemplifies the spirit of entrepreneurship that fuels the American Dream. Their dedication and resiliency will lead to a strong economic recovery in the United States. Sam’s Club serves 600,000 small business owners every day – wow. Have seen a big need and they are expanding to help small business get access to capital. They are launching a pilot program today to provide SBA loans to their members throughout the country.

Bob Love took the stage to talk about believing in and achieving your dreams. Not to listen to the detractors and the naysayers, when they say you can’t, you show them that you can. Funny story, over the course of your life you will earn the average salary of your four closest friends – the lesson? Hang out with successful people! But on the serious side, invoking the lesson of Michael Vick, if you want to be successful surround yourself with successful people, if you want to be powerful, hang out with powerful people.

Love had a severe stutter growing up and into his NBA career. While he was playing basketball he never got the chance to do TV interviews or endorsement deals. His friends would laugh at him and tell him that he would never graduated high school or college. But he dreamed big, and he worked hard, and today he gives speeches for a living. He never played the victim, he did the work and he rose up, and that is the American Dream.

There are some mistakes that you can’t take back and there are some missed opportunities that you can never recapture. The difference in effort between success and mediocrity is small, the difference in effort between mediocrity and failure is small; but the differences in outcome are huge. So practice hard and practice what you preach.

Love left the stage to a standing ovation and then the inspiration continued with the awarding of awards to our Regional Winners. A video was shown for each winner and they were, in a word, awesome. Will get those online tonight for you. Check them out here. And then it was time, the big one… and the DREAM BIG Small Business of the Year Award goes to…

Fintech from Tampa Florida!!!

A big round of applause and a great speech from Fintech’s Scott Riley:

“We all have refused to let this recession kick our behinds, it is getting better and we will emerge from it stronger.”