National Small Business Week 2017 runs from April 30 to May 6, 2017, with activities running from Monday (May 1) through Friday (May 5). This event presents a wonderful opportunity for all to celebrate small businesses in the U.S.
About small businesses
A profile of small businesses in the U.S. released by the U.S. Small Business Administration — the agency sponsoring National Small Business Week 2017 — shows that small businesses have a big economic footprint. Some facts:
- There are about 29.6 million small businesses, which account for 99.9% of all businesses in the U.S. Of these, about 8 million are minority-owned businesses.
- Small businesses create 1.4 million net new jobs.
- There are 57.9 million people working at small businesses, which represents 47.8% of all U.S. employees.
- Of all the U.S. exporters, 97.7% are small businesses.
How consumers feel about small businesses
According to a recent AT&T survey, 76% of respondents said they support small business. In fact, 90% of respondents said they “shop small” at least once a month, with nearly half shopping small at least once a week.
Even though the majority of millennials (59%) — those ages 16 through 34 — have never worked for a small business, they are the generation most likely to spend more money there. Their purchasing power in 2017 is estimated to be about $200 billion. More than half of all respondents (56%) said they feel more favorable about large companies that support small businesses.
Bottom line: small businesses seem to have done a good job in attracting customers, engendering loyalty, and staying relevant in today’s marketplace.
Final thought
These statistics are encouraging to me; I’ve been a small business owner for 34 years and am looking forward to many more years to come. It also shows me that despite mega-companies, such as Amazon and Apple, there are still great opportunities for small businesses in the U.S.
