While browsing for interesting updates on SMBs, I stumbled on a recent article on Entrepreneur.com. It contains an infographic published by Sage, one of the leading business management software companies. The infographic is basically an overview on their recent survey conducted on May 2013, polling nearly a thousand U.S. small business owners.
The findings are interesting, but the data visualization shows me how much I easily forget a known fact that small business runs a country’s economy – literally; not only in the U.S. but also in other countries, as well.
To make my point, just glance over some interesting data visualized into a well-designed infographic (click to enlarge):
It’s interesting to know that in the U.S., 31 percent is independent businesses run by their owners alone – many of them are home-based (like me!) Median-wise, U.S. SMBs employ 3 employees and make $182.7K annually. And yes, SMBs create new jobs – thanks to the startups.
But what you see is not as eye-opening as what comes next…
I literally stopped for 5 seconds at the “Small-but mighty” part. I have already known that small businesses drive U.S. economy, but not to that extent: 27.9 million SMEs vs. 18,500 big enterprises. Okay maybe it’s psychologically bias – let me put it this way: 27,900,000 vs. 18,500; here’s another way to put it: 1,500:1
Okay – 1,500 SMBs for every 1 big business… in other words, 99.7 percent of employers in the U.S. are small business employers. Behold, the power of many!
Can’t you tell the significance of small businesses? And here’s a proof of resilience to you: SMBs with less than 20 employees continuously creating jobs vs. those with 20-49 employees. In April 2013, the figure is staggering: 1-19-employee small businesses create twice as much jobs as 20-49-employee small businesses (34K vs. 17K.)
The keyword in Sage’s survey is small business hiring: SMBs are on the driving seat, playing an important role in new job creations, which also impact on U.S. unemployment figures.
Then the big question which also intrigued me has finally arrives: What if small businesses disappeared? Here are some horrifying answers:
- U.S. economy will lose 64 percent job openings, causing massive waves of unemployment.
- There will be 600,000 less startups annually in the U.S.
- U.S. exports will drop by 33 percent
The bottom line, without small businesses, U.S.’ – and any other countries’ – economy will be dying. Not a pretty picture, I guess…
So – love your local businesses, will ya?
