Compelling Small Business Facts

Some Small Business Facts for Fun

If you currently own a small business or are thinking about starting one, you are not alone. One of the strongest economic growth trends is found in the creation and maintenance of the modern, digital-age small business.  Of all U.S. jobs created in the last decade, 70 percent came from small businesses.

There is something to be said about running your own show. Many Americans are now seeing the benefit of taking one’s own financial future and economic destiny into their own hands. Why work for someone else when you can work for yourself? The rewards can be significant, but the challenges are many.

In a recent report by the Small Business Administration, entitled, The Small Business Economy: A Report to the President, the following growth trends were highlighted:

• There are 27 million small businesses in the United States.
• Small businesses provide half of the nation’s non-farm GDP.
• In the first quarter of 2007, 74 percent of all new jobs created were in firms with less than 500 employees.
• Over 20 percent of jobs created in 2007 were in small businesses with 20 or fewer employees.
• Half of all Americans work for a small business.
• Small businesses are a primary job generator for the U.S. economy.
• Small businesses are a major source of first-time job training.
• Small businesses are showing strong growth in both women and minority businesses.
• The number of self-employed individuals in the U.S. under the age of 25 increased by over 30 percent between 2000 and 2006, and for the 55–64 age group, it increased over 44 percent.

One of many conclusions: small businesses will be a key economic driver for recovery…

What do you think?