Savannah Mayor Van Johnson stood on the stage inside the Savannah Civic Center Ballroom and asked attendees if they had a business card. If so, raise them in the air, he said.
Then he told the room of over 100 small business owners and leaders to exchange cards with someone else. It was the launch of the 2026 Mayor’s Small Business Conference.
Each year small business professionals around Savannah and Chatham County attend the event, which in recent years has been accompanied by a reverse trade show with larger employers, to network and learn about resources for small business growth. The conference is always accompanied by a state of small business discussion, where leaders from varying sectors discuss the opportunities and challenges facing them.
Here are a few takeaways from this year’s state of small business.
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Economic growth stronger than projected, opportunities exist
Georgia Southern’s Fuller E. Callaway Professor of Economics Michael Toma delivered an overview of the regional economy and how small businesses fit into that picture.
The regional economy has been anchored in recent years by what Toma calls two “overlays:” growth in logistics driven by the Georgia Ports Authority and growth in manufacturing driven by Hyundai Motor Group’s Metaplant America in Bryan County.
Through the first quarter of this year, regional employment growth would be relatively flat without growth in logistics and manufacturing, Toma said.
“The data is finally catching up with growth that we're seeing in our electric vehicle industry and Hyundai and the ecosystem around that,” Toma said. “…That’s really good because those two sectors are fundamentally supporting our regional economy right now.”
For small businesses, the number that employ less than 100 employees increased 4.4% from last year. But that was driven primarily by business over that threshold shrinking to below 100.
Small businesses with fewer than 20 employees grew at about a 1% clip, which is about two-thirds the growth rate of overall employment in the regional economy, Toma said.
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Toma added that companies which employ over 1,000 people grew at a 3% rate. That creates opportunities for small business to pursue support and complementary services for the growing sectors of the economy, he said.
State of Black Business
Greater Savannah Black Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Moncello Stewart delivered remarks on the state of Black business ownership.
He summed it up succinctly.
“We’re growing, but we’re also being tested,” he said.
Stewart said he sees more people starting business every day but added the community has recently lost “several prominent Black-owned businesses.” Those businesses were community anchors and points of legacy, he said.
Stewart shared a statistic that Black businesses make up about 3% of employing firms nationally. Locally, that number is about 7%, he said. The strength of existing Black businesses compared to the national share shows the challenge isn’t starting businesses, but sustaining them and scaling them, he said.
The Greater Savannah Black Chamber has been working to strengthen community ties, including with faith-based organizations, and creating business clubs to help with succession planning.
“We understand that business growth is tied to trust, relationships and consistent support,” he said.
Stewart also said there is greater opportunity to engage Savannah's Black businesses in the tourism sector through contracts, partnerships and visibility. "That's not just a challenge, it's an opportunity," he said.
The Greater Savannah Black Chamber is hosting aBlack Business Expo on Aug. 1at the Savannah Convention Center. Stewart said the expo is the largest south of Virginia.
Evan Lasseter is Savannah and Chatham County government reporter for the Savannah Morning News. You can reach him at ELasseter@savannahnow.com.
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News:Savannah's state of small business shows growth opportunities
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