SERVPRO Celebrates Entrepreneurship in Recognition of Small Business Week 2017

GALLATIN, TN--(Marketwired - April 19, 2017) - From April 30 to May 6, 2017, America will celebrate Small Business Week, an annual event sponsored by the U.S. Small Business Association (SBA). According to disaster remediation specialist SERVPRO^®, Small Business Week is an opportunity for national and community leaders to recognize the critical contributions of America's entrepreneurs and small business owners to the country's economy.

Sue Steen, Servpro Industries, Inc., chief executive officer, emphasizes there is nothing "small" about small business when it comes to its importance to the nation's economic health. According to statistics from the SBA, 28 million small businesses in America account for 54 percent of all U.S. sales; of those 28 million businesses, the 600,000 U.S. franchised small businesses, like SERVPRO, account for 40 percent of all retail sales and provide jobs for some eight million people. As these local business people work to grow their businesses, they help create 21st century jobs, drive innovation, and increase America's global competitiveness.

For entrepreneurs, becoming a franchise owner is one path to small business ownership. "Entrepreneurship is at the heart of a successful small business-the drive to own and grow a business through your own efforts," said Steen. "Franchise organizations like SERVPRO give entrepreneurs a framework for their ambitions, access to state-of-the-art tools and processes, and a roadmap for sound financial management and growth."

Some franchised small businesses offer entrepreneurs an opportunity to own and run their own small business while providing a service to the community they live and work in. With SERVPRO, for example, franchise ownership helps entrepreneurs combine their hometown knowledge and the emotional investment they have with their community with access to the latest disaster remediation technology and products. This combination creates a community asset that could prove invaluable to home and business owners who are struck by the unexpected.

"Our franchise owners are proud small business owners in their communities," says Steen. "But, as SERVPRO small business owners, they know that the unexpected can happen -- a flood, a fire, an explosion, a storm, a mudslide, whatever the event might be -- big or small. When the unexpected does happen, these dedicated entrepreneurs and their staffs are ready to respond immediately and effectively to limit the damage to property and disruption to lives in their communities. Having both an emotional and financial stake in their communities is what distinguishes small businesses with local owners from other businesses. And that's what makes small businesses such an important thread in the fabric of this country."

SERVPRO specializes in disaster restoration, cleanup and repair services, helping to remediate damage, making it "Like it never even happened," for both commercial and residential customers. For more information on the SERVPRO mobile app and the SERVPRO Emergency READY Program, please visit www.ready.servpro.com/.

About SERVPRO^®
Founded in 1967, the SERVPRO^® Franchise System is a leader and provider of fire and water cleanup and restoration services and mold mitigation and remediation. SERVPRO's professional services network of more than 1,700 individually owned and operated Franchises responds to property damage emergencies ranging from small individual disasters to multi-million dollar large-loss events. Providing coverage in the United States and Canada, the SERVPRO^® System has established relationships with major insurance companies and commercial clients, as well as individual homeowners.