With this week (June 27th to July 1st) celebrating International Small Business Week, Google has announced the release of several SMB support tools and offers aimed at helping small businesses make the most of their online presences and stand out to customers online.
The first thing they are offering is a range of discounts on digital tools that are aimed at helping SMBs to operate and grow more efficiently.
These include three months of Google Workspace for free, a 40% discount on a domain from Google Domains, $130 off a Chromebook and 60 days for free of Shopify and a free Shopify-built store. These discounts are available to all small businesses in Canada and the US for this week only.
Additionally, Google has announced plans to provide extra support for entrepreneurs from the LGBTQ+ community. Google has launched a new program in a partnership with an LGBTQ+ nonprofit organisation StartOut, which works to help facilitate mentorship and allow access to capital, along with other business tools.
Google released a statement on the project: “Through StartOut’s Acceleration Initiative, Google will fund more than 60 scholarships to help black, Latinx and female identifying LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs to grow and scale their businesses.”
Small businesses are a vital part of the economy, with an estimated 99% of all US businesses said to be in the category of SMB.
Because of this, it is important to support small businesses wherever we can to solidify the strength of the economy and provide support for people within our communities and marginalised communities, providing more room for entrepreneurial success.
