Amazon Business Celebrates Third Annual Small Business Month with New Immersive Educational Hub and Over $250,000 in Grants

Amazon Business (NASDAQ: AMZN), the company’s business-to-business procurement store, today kicked off its third annual Small Business Month to help support the growth of small businesses in the U.S. This year, Small Business Month includes an exciting and interactive new online resource center called Small Business Success Studio [https://business.amazon.com/studio]. The studio provides small businesses with free online educational tools and resources to start, run, and grow their business. As part of Small Business Month, Amazon Business also launched the 2024 Small Business Grants program that gives eligible small businesses in the U.S. the chance to win over $250,000 in monetary grants.

According to a recent survey of small-business decision-makers across the United States, the ​​top three challenges small-business decision-makers say are keeping them up at night are high inflation (50%), high operations/labor costs (42%), and supply chain distribution (41%). While contending with these macroeconomic challenges, small business owners remain optimistic, with 93% feeling hopeful about the state of the economy.

Small businesses are also looking for new ways to grow their business. They see increasing their procurement budget (65%) and investing in procurement (75%), especially procurement tools (49%), are ways to do so. While these play a key role in scaling their business, more than two-thirds (68%) of business owners surveyed feel that there is room for optimization in their procurement operations and half are worried that if they don't adopt artificial intelligence technologies in 2024, their business will fall behind.

“Driving education and getting funds to small businesses who are driving impact in their local communities is something we’re very passionate about at Amazon Business,” said Shelley Salomon, vice president of Amazon Business Worldwide. “Setting these small businesses up for success, whether through grants, educational opportunities, or the innovative tools Amazon Business offers to simplify buying decisions, our hope is to help free up some time and resources so they can focus on their mission.”

Small Business Success Studio

Launched today, the Small Business Success Studio is a new on-demand, immersive online educational resource for all entrepreneurs eager to start, grow, and/or scale their businesses—provided by Amazon Business at no cost. Packing essential know-how across finance, marketing, procurement, and operations into easy-to-digest content, the Studio features real success stories and practical tips from seasoned founders like Allison Ellsworth of poppi. Users gain access to peer insights and learn how to use Amazon Business to simplify the procurement experience and gain operational efficiencies, saving both time and money. Aimed at being a strategic partner for growth, the Studio supports small business owners at every step of their journey, fueling inspiration, education, and community.