Celebrating the Little Guy

Since 1963, U.S. presidents have been declaring one week a year as National Small Business Week, and this year’s event runs from today through Friday. The Small Business Administration, along with a handful of other co-sponsors, has planned a week’s worth of activities including a 3-day conference in Washington D.C. and ceremonies in New York to mark the occasion (go here for more details), but I think the party shouldn’t be limited to just these two locales. Given small business’s large role in our nation’s economy, there’s plenty to celebrate. According to the Small Business Administration, small businesses (i.e., independent businesses with 500 or fewer employees) represent 99.7% of all firms and employ about ½ of the private sector. They account for over 45% of the U.S.’s payroll and have generated 60-80% of net new jobs over the last decade. Some impressive stats indeed!

So, from one member of the small business world to the rest: Cheers and Happy National Small Business Week!