Small Business Leadership Summit 2016 Recap

Watermark Learning was excited to be selected for the second year in a row as one of more than 150 small business leaders from across the country to attend the Small Business Leadership Summit in Washington D.C. The Summit, hosted by small business advocacy organization Small Business Majority, provided a unique opportunity for us and other small businesses to interact with key policymakers, senior members of the Obama Administration, and issue experts to identify ways to put small business owners at the center of public policy conversations.

With its theme, “Recognizing the Power of the Small Business Economy,” the Summit featured panel discussions, keynote speeches, interactive workshops, and presentations by industry experts and successful entrepreneurs. The Summit concluded with a half-day visit to the White House during which small business owners had an opportunity to engage directly with senior members of the Obama Administration.

Some of the topline issues for small businesses featured at The Summit were:

Access to capital, including emerging technologies such as online lending and crowdfunding, along with issues surrounding predatory lending to ensure small businesses obtain the capital necessary to grow and strengthen their firms in a responsible and sustainable manner.
Tax policy to spur small business/economic growth while leveling the playing field, promoting fairness and ensuring tax policies being considered truly help small businesses, not large corporations or special interests.
Critical workforce issues impacting small businesses today such as healthcare, retirement savings, minimum wage and family medical leave.
Small business’ critical role in big-picture economic matters such as infrastructure and economic development.
Technology, cyber security and online privacy, and how small businesses can adopt and learn about new solutions to old challenges.
Women’s entrepreneurship, including what factors hold women back and what we can do to help women smash the entrepreneurship glass ceiling.

View our gallery to see more about the speakers and discussions throughout the event.

Richard Larson, PMP, CBAP, PMI-PBA and Elizabeth Larson, PMP, CBAP, PMI-PBA, CSM

Richard Larson, PMP, CBAP, PMI-PBA, was the founder of and is now a consultant for Watermark Learning. He is a successful entrepreneur with over 35 years of experience in product development, business analysis, project management, training, and consulting. As an internal entrepreneur, Rich led the development of several Watermark Learning online products as a business analyst and product owner. Rich is a frequent speaker at Business Analysis and Project Management national conferences and IIBA® and PMI® chapters around the world. He has contributed as a lead author to the BA Body of Knowledge version 2.0 and 3.0 and was a lead author on PMI’s Business Analysis Practice Guide. He and his wife Elizabeth Larson have co-authored five books on business analysis.