Most of us love supporting a small business. Especially when they’re owned by our family and friends or people we know.
There’s never a shortage of small businesses in the U.S. There are millions that exist, and that number fluctuates as thousands close and even more open every day.
Whether it’s a brick-and-mortar business, a financing company, or e-commerce store, entrepreneurs and small business owners are out there handling their clients, employees, and everything in between.
Here’s an insightful compilation of small business statistics to give you an idea of the recent trends that have been apparent over the last few years. They might help provide perspective on your own budding ideas, or a friend who’s established their brand marketing already. You might be a successful business owner yourself. You just never know who needs to see a good stat!
Small Business Statistics: General
Over 99% of U.S. employers are small business owners (Cision, 2016).
Small businesses in the U.S. employ 57 million people (StartBlox, 2018).
About 543,000 new businesses are started each month (Yahoo).
Popular industries for startups in 2018 included healthcare, e-commerce, technology, marijuana and maintenance (LendEDU, 2018).
25% of small companies with 500 employees or less are more than 20 years old (Wall Street Journal, 2015).
66% of small businesses will outsource services to other small businesses (FreshBooks, 2017).
Over 50% of small businesses have a Chief Financial Officer (Wall Street Journal, 2015).
It only takes 6 days to start a business in the U.S. In China, it takes 38 days (Dynadot, 2014).
The average amount of a startup’s capital is $10,000 (Digital, 2017).
45% of minority-owned businesses have fewer than 20 employees (Kabbage).
There are 9.9 million women-owned businesses in the U.S. and 14.8 million male-owned businesses (StartBlox, 2018).
Small businesses owned by American Indians and Alaska Natives increased by 15% between 2007 and 2012 (Kabbage).
Small Business Statistics: Entrepreneurs
The number one motivation for someone to open their own business was that they’re ready to be their own boss (Guidant Financial, 2019).
53% of small business owners ranked their happiness at 9 or above in their roles of owning a business (Guidant Financial, 2019).
Over one-third of small business owners feel very confident about the future of their business (NSBA, 2017).
42% of self-employed professionals are not planning for retirement (FreshBooks, 2017).
The majority of small business owners are males at 73% (Guidant Financial, 2019).
Entrepreneurship in women grew by 114% between 1997 and 2017 (Fundera, 2018).
12.5% of entrepreneurs in the U.S. are immigrants (Crowdspring, 2017).
95% of entrepreneurs have a bachelor’s degree (Serious Startups, 2014).
Business owners with student debt had smaller ventures (SBA, 2014).
69% of entrepreneurs in the U.S. start their business at home (Small Business Trends, 2016).
Having two founders increases the odds of success for a small business as opposed to having one (INC, 2015).
82% of startup funds come from the entrepreneur, or family and friends (Small Business Trends, 2013).
The median income for a small business owner is $59,000 (Digital, 2018).
Entrepreneurs who own a home are 10% more likely to start a business than those who don’t (Fundera, 2017).
54% of small business owners worry about finding hires with great talent (Salesforce, 2018).
Small Business Statistics: Marketing
The number one marketing goals for a small business is driving sales. This is followed by retaining and engaging customers (Statista, 2018).
70-80% of people research a small business before visiting or making a purchase from them (Blue Corona, 2018).
Social media is the leading tactic in a small business marketing strategy (Statista, 2018).
61% of small businesses invest in social media marketing (Clutch, 2018).
92% of business owners believe that having a website is the most effective digital marketing strategy (Iron Paper, 2018).
83% of small business owners with a website feel a competitive advantage to those without one (GoDaddy, 2015).
89% of small business owners believe using search engine optimization is the most effective digital marketing strategy (Iron Paper, 2018).
47% of small business owners handle marketing on their own (Clutch, 2018).
About half of small businesses spend 2 hours or less on marketing per week (Iron Paper, 2018).
Small Business Statistics: Challenges + Success
30% of small business owners say that keeping up with technology is a major concern (Blue Corona, 2018).
The cost of health insurance is the biggest challenge to the survival of a small business (NSBA, 2017).
50% of new businesses fail within their first five years (INC, 2015).
Startups have a 37% success rate after their first four years (Serious Startups, 2014).
58% of finance, insurance, and real estate startups still operate after four years (Small Business Trends, 2018).
In the U.S., the main obstacle to the success of a small business is generating new business (Statista, 2018).
43% of cyber attacks target small businesses (Digital, 2017).
60% of small companies that get hacked close within 6 months (Cyber Security Ventures, 2019).
82% of businesses fail because of cash flow problems (Fundera, 2107).
46% of small businesses fail because of incompetence (Small Business Trends, 2018).
74% of tech startups fail because they scaled too fast (Crowdspring, 2017).
14% of small businesses fail because they ignore their customers (Fundera, 2018).
42% of small businesses fail because there’s no market for their product or service (Blue Corona, 2018).
It seems like a great time to take advantage of opportunities!
Seeing statistics like these puts a perspective on the world of business and commerce in the U.S. Especially when we have a record-breaking number of small businesses that pop up overnight and entrepreneurs with new, creative ideas every day.
If you’re starting on your own venture, make sure to keep some of these small business statistics in mind so that you maximize your potential and have the upper-hand on your competition.
Source: https://learn.g2crowd.com/small-business-statistics