At Bernadette Davis Communications, we have the opportunity to provide strategic communications counsel to organizations and companies that contract with diverse-owned and small businesses. From the agencies we partner with to the local businesses we frequent, we see firsthand the many benefits that come from utilizing these small but mighty powerhouses.
When you patronize a business in the United States, chances are great that it’s a small business.
According to the United States Small Business Administration (SBA), the vast majority of companies in the U.S. – 99.9% – are classified as small businesses.
That means that 33,185,550 business enterprises in the United States fall under the small business umbrella. A company is considered a small business by SBA standards if it has fewer than 500 employees.
Small Business Saturday, which falls on the Saturday following Thanksgiving, was designated to encourage shoppers to patronize their local businesses. The case for supporting small businesses is strong.
Women- and minority-owned small businesses, in particular, help individuals and families create a livelihood, as well as generational wealth, for populations that may struggle to build wealth for their children and grandchildren.
Women own 21.7% of small businesses, while additionally, African Americans own 2.4%, Asians 10.4%, and Hispanics 6.4%.
And despite the ups and downs of the business climate, many small businesses are remarkably adept at weathering the storms of the economy.
SBA statistics indicate that between 1994 and 2020, the two-year survival rate for new businesses was 67.7%, although the numbers declined to 33.7% over the course of 10 years.
With more than 33 million small businesses operating around the country, the chances are high that everyone knows at least one person who runs a business. Whenever you patronize one of those businesses, you’re making a contribution not only to your local economy, but potentially to the livelihood or future generational wealth of a friend or neighbor.
