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5 Interesting Facts about the State of Small Business
Did you know that small businesses (defined as a business with 500 or less employees) are really big drivers for our economy. How big?
1. Small Business accounts for 99.7% of all businesses in the U.S. The best part about small businesses is that they pay tax revenues that help pay for infrastructure and many times grow to become large corporations.
2. They employ 50% of the nations private sector employees.
3. The disheartening news is that small business start-up rates are close to a 40 year low. They tanked during the Great Recession in 2008 and haven’t really recovered. That means less job creation. Sited reasons for the decline are: less access to capital, too many licenses and fees, finding a qualified workforce and the trend toward buying from larger retail outlets.
4. Most people assume that the millennial generation accounts for the new start-ups but actually 51% of start-ups are started by someone over 50. This age group has more disposable income and are looking at exploring new options for the next stage of their life.
5. Males still start more businesses although females aren’t far behind. Fifty-five percent of males and 36% of females start their own business. The other 9% and equal male/female ownership.
What does this mean for the future? We need to do everything possible to promote new business development to keep the economy expanding. Minimize the barriers for small business start-ups by: lessoning the licensing fees, making it easier to gain access to capital and providing support through entrepreneurship education. It affects all of us.
