A couple weeks ago, I had the privilege of attending Entrepreneur magazine’s 2012 Growth Conference in Long Beach, Calif., as a member of The UPS Store team, which sponsored the event.

For the more than 850 entrepreneurs who convened at this year’s Growth Conference, there was an undeniable feeling of optimism and determination to learn and grow their businesses.

I admire entrepreneurs. I know many in my own life and career. Each of The UPS Store franchisees is an entrepreneur in his or her own right. What they do is truly amazing. It takes an enormous amount of courage to chart a path, not knowing where you’ll end up in the end.

The conference kicked off with a keynote address from entrepreneur and small business expert Chris Brogan. I was fortunate to sit at a table with one entrepreneur who was hoping to glean some motivation from the speakers to help her get started with her business.

When Chris took the stage, I knew we were in for a fantastic day of learning and growth. Chris spoke about the hard lessons of being an entrepreneur and what you can do to focus on growth in your business. Being the social media buff that he is, Chris spoke about the importance of focusing on relationships versus transactions within social media, becoming a relationship-minded business. (Watch the complete video of Chris Brogan’s keynote.)

The rest of the day was packed with great content and networking opportunities. Several leading entrepreneurs and small business experts hosted workshop sessions that helped attendees learn how to raise capital to start a business, increase productivity and output, use social media to market to consumers and create consumer passion for your brand. One of our very own franchisees, Gary Williams Jr., was also featured in a panel discussion during one of the workshop sessions.

The highlight of the day was the awards luncheon, where Entrepreneur magazine and The UPS Store awarded the winners of the Entrepreneur of 2011 contest. The most inspiring one came from winner Lee Rhodes, a cancer survivor who founded glassybaby. Lee donates a significant portion of the company’s revenue to help fund treatment to cancer patients. Her goal is to donate 10% of revenue.

Check out the highlights from the entire day.

With nearly 28 million small businesses in the United States, chances are that you have a personal connection to a small business owner. My connection is with my father. As a serial entrepreneur, he rarely has met a business opportunity he didn’t like.

Over the years as I’ve watched him start one business after another and have been a part of each and every one, I’ve been inspired and come to understand the risks and the hard work – as well as the big rewards. Maybe that’s part of why I do what I do now in UPS’s Small Business Marketing group. My job is to help small businesses by understanding their needs, and keeping those needs in the forefront of UPS’s product development and marketing activities.

Elbow grease and a vision

My dad’s first foray into entrepreneurship started in the “glamorous” world of farming in South Texas. From the time I was 10, we drove an hour each way every weekend to plant, fertilize, check the irrigation and otherwise grow peaches. We knew summer was coming soon when we were juggling schedules between baseball games and opening the orchard to the public for peach picking. Despite our best efforts, though, the peach orchard never turned out to be a big money winner and my dad had to give up on this dream.

He hardly missed a step, as the next entrepreneurial opportunity was a soap vending business in apartment laundromats. I played a key role as the only labor overhead. I had just received my driver’s license and could legally drive on my own to collect deposited money from the soap box dispensing machines.

About the time of my senior year in high school, he began the business he still runs today – Royal Window Fashions. As my dad built the business from the ground up, I unloaded trailers of miniblinds, cut vertical blinds to order and organized the warehouse. The business that started out with as many employees as family members now employs about 16 workers. Royal Window Fashions made it through the tough times of the recession and has survived to this day largely through my father’s will to succeed. I suspect that those of you with small businesses would tell a similar story.

A way of life

Through all the companies and jobs that I performed, I learned the value of hard work, importance of customer service and need for thrift. My father’s drive and ability to accept risk helped keep the company afloat, despite all the obstacles that a small business faces every day. I also learned that family labor wasn’t necessarily cheaper than hiring out (sorry about the ceiling I put a hole in, Dad).

This week (May 16–20, 2011) is National Small Business Week. Enjoy the week that celebrates you and your dream.

On Thursday, hundreds of entrepreneurs and aspiring entrepreneurs will descend on the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta for the 3rd annual Entrepreneur magazine’s Growth 2.0 Conference, a free, one-day event presented by The UPS Store. A focal point of the day is the recognition of three individuals who are making an impact on their industries, communities and employees – the winners of the Entrepreneur of 2010 Awards.

• Established Entrepreneur: Daniel Lubetzky, KIND Healthy Snacks
• Emerging Entrepreneur: Derek Zobrist, Enovative Kontrol Systems
• College Entrepreneur: Allen Kim, Bebarang

The UPS Store sees its presentation of the Entrepreneur of 2010 Awards and the 3rd annual Growth 2.0 Conference as a perfect match. Since each and every one of our locations is run by a small business owner, they understand the day-in and day-out challenges and rewards of running your own business. Thousands of small-business customers rely on their local The UPS Store to help them with the logistics of running their businesses.

Throughout the day, attendees will hear from industry experts in nearly a dozen hands-on seminars on topics ranging from starting up your business, to sales leadership to attracting your customers through Google AdWords. In addition, Growth 2.0 Conference-goers will hear from serial entrepreneur and former Kentucky governor John Brown, who has opened more than 4,000 franchise units nationally and internationally and built the “Colonel” as in Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) into the world’s most recognized personal brand and largest food service company.

With the passage of small-business friendly legislation last year, the stage has been set in 2011 for small business to prosper and help fuel the American economy. What better way to start the new year than by a day of learning and networking?

If you can’t join us in person, follow the Growth 2.0 Conference on Twitter at #growthconference.

Almost everyday, I read about someone who has started a business, thought of an ingenious idea, and think to myself, “why didn’t I think of that?” Or, I read about a business that is using its resources to make a difference in its community.

While I may daydream of what it would be like to be my own boss, make my to-be-determined clever business concept a reality, running a small business is a lot of work. These men and women often wear many hats—accountant, salesperson, marketing guru, social media strategist, and receptionist.

Throughout the recent economic decline, we repeatedly heard how American small business would fuel our recovery. According to the Small Business Administration (SBA), small businesses in the U.S. employ over 50 percent of the private sector and shell out 44 percent of the private sector pay. Small-business owners are the backbone of our economy.

To honor these entrepreneurs, their contributions to our nation’s economy as well as their industries, employees and communities, each March, Entrepreneur magazine, along with The UPS Store franchise network, seeks out America’s top entrepreneurs, one for each of three categories: established, emerging and college.

Are you one of those individuals whose business has filled a niche within its industry? Do you offer your employees a unique work environment and an opportunity to make a difference in your community? If so, there is still plenty of time to enter Entrepreneur magazines’ Entrepreneur of 2010 contest (deadline is June 15).

Last year’s winners included Entrepreneur of 2009 Rick Alden of Skullcandy; Emerging Entrepreneur of 2009 Kelly Giard of Clean Air Lawn Care, and College Entrepreneur of 2009 Bradley Ericson of 3SecondReceipts.

Entry criteria and the complete rules can be found on www.entrepreneur.com/e2010/rules, or for the college contest, visit www.entrepreneur.com/e2010college.

In addition to $5,000 in start-up capital for the College Entrepreneur of 2010, all three winning entrepreneurs will receive two round-trip tickets within the continental U.S. and a profile in the January 2011 issue of Entrepreneur magazine, and more.

I can’t wait to read each one of your stories and once again think, “Why didn’t I think of that?”

Good luck … and keep it up, entrepreneurs!