The importance of entrepreneurs and small businesses in the U.S. economy was in the spotlight Wednesday during the fourth annual UPS Impact Summit, held at the company’s headquarters in Sandy Springs.
The event featured panels of UPS executives, small business owners, and civic leaders discussing both the opportunities and challenges facing entrepreneurs. UPS CEO Carol B. Tomé opened the summit by recalling the company’s beginnings in 1907, when it was founded by 18-year-old Jim Casey, who took out a $100 loan to launch the business with friends in the basement of a Seattle, Washington bar.
UPS delivers more than 22 million packages daily, she said, crediting the support of communities and customers.
“We’re all about doing good and making an impact on communities,” Tomé said.
Georgia has 1.3 million small businesses, according to the 2025 University of Georgia Small Business Development Center.
And metro Atlanta has the second-highest concentration of small businesses in the U.S., according to the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce.
Panelist Katie Kirkpatrick, chamber president and CEO, said that 95% of jobs come from companies with fewer than 100 employees, and that 97% of all U.S. companies fall into that category.
“When you think about the ecosystem that we have in the economy here in the United States, it is largely driven by small business,” Kirkpatrick told attendees. “…You are the job creators.”
The panels discussed how entrepreneurs can balance growth with authenticity, stay relevant, and survive in competitive markets. Nationally, 727,000 small businesses open annually, 1,500 a day, but one in five close within their first year.
Lakeysha Hallman, founder of The Village Market at Ponce City Market, said entrepreneurs often feel isolated in their journey. She said many small business owners struggle to find capital, tax accountants, or attorneys, which inspired her to create Village United, a nonprofit that provides those resources.
Hallman also highlighted her book on intentionally building community titled “No One is Self-Made: Build Your Village to Flourish in Business and Life.” A copy was given to all attendees.
“We’re not meant to build our companies alone,” Hallman said.
Kirkpatrick echoed that sentiment, describing the chamber as a safe, trusted space that provides mentorship and resources to help small businesses thrive.
“One of the things that’s really clear to me… is really the responsibility of the mentee to be clear about what they are looking for,” said UPS Global Reputation Management President Malcolm Berkley.
Berkley led a panel that spotlighted Sydney Addis and Mikayla Garcia, co-founders of “Call Me Shirley,” a canned cocktail company known for its Dirty Shirley drinks — vodka-spiked Shirley Temples.
Addis and Garcia won the 2025 UPS Store Small Biz Challenge, a five-week national competition that paired entrepreneurs with mentors and tested their skills in marketing, social media, and other areas. The challenge awarded them $25,000 in prize money.
Addis and Garcia shared that when they were first starting, they reached out to an entrepreneur in the alcohol industry whom they didn’t know on social media. That person was so open that he documented his entire startup process step-by-step for them.
“He was so kind. He said, ‘I wouldn’t be in the position that I am in now if business owners before me didn’t pay it forward,'” Garcia said. “So he created an entire playbook for us. It had a step-by-step… on how to start an alcoholic beverage company… And without that, we wouldn’t be where we are today.”
Betsy Wilson, a UPS digital marketer, said mentors and programs like the UPS Store Small Biz Challenge help entrepreneurs take their business to the next level.
“It takes a special breed of person to be an entrepreneur,” Wilson said. “…It takes a lot of grit and determination and commitment and courage. You’ve got people telling you ‘Don’t do it. Go get a regular job… Why are you doing this?”
UPS has created opportunities for virtual consultations between customers and business experts who offer advice in such areas as supply chains, customer experience or operations to help business owners “unlock potential,” she added.
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