Need To Nourish Entrepreneurship
Dear Friends & Neighbors,
Sunshine through the cloud, symbolizing opportunities for entrepreneurship (credit: Windermere Sun-Susan Sun Nunamaker)
(Please click on red links & note magenta)
Perhaps you’ve heard the phrase “Small Businesses are the backbone of the U.S. economy.” over and over again, especially during election years. But how closely have you checked the data to see how valid this statement really is? Well I did and here it is:
In the data provided by Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy, in 2010, there were 27.9 million small businesses registered in the United States, compared to just 18,500 companies of 500 employees or more. Included in that total figure are sole proprietorships (73.2 percent), corporations (19.5 percent), and franchises (2 percent). 52 percent of small businesses are home-based. The most important thing to note: 99.7 percent of U.S. employer firms are small businesses.
Small businesses also lead the way in tech and new product innovation. In a study conducted by the Small Business Administration it is found that small businesses produced 16 times more patents per employee compared to larger patenting firms. Considering that small businesses account for 43 percent of high tech employment, it’s not surprising to note that tech startups account for a significant portion of that innovation.
Furthermore, small business ownership both reflects and is critical in enabling the diversity of the United States. In 2012, 14.6 percent of small business owners were minorities, compared with 11.5 percent in 2007. This includes 2.3 million Hispanic-American-owned businesses, 1.9 million African-American-owned businesses, and 1.6 million Asian-American owned businesses.
As the state of Florida, the third most populous state in USA, continues to have increased growth rate of African Americans, Asian Americans, and Hispanic Americans, it is important that small businesses are able to thrive.
Reasons mentioned above and the desire to help our communities to transition into healthier, happier, and more sustainable living, initiated the beginning of Windermere Sun.
In the coming week I will be sharing a series of discussions of topics for How To Start Your Own Business (with special emphasis for Floridians). For each episode, there will be a topic learned from How To Start Your Own Business 101 during presentation by L. Harrison Thayer, CBA (made available from NEC, National Entrepreneur Center, in Feb. of 2016) and a related topic learned from WCMIA2016 (WordPress Camp Miami 2016 in Feb. of 2016). Hope you will tune in to prepare for your future endeavors in the world of entrepreneurship.
Below, allow me to share 10 startup stories of the problem-solving innovation:
Any comments, suggestions, concerns regarding this post will be welcomed at info.WindermereSun@gmail.com
More about the community at www.WindermereSun.com
www.cafepress.com/sunisthefuture
www.kiva.org/team/sunisthefuture
www.facebook.com/sunisthefuture
www.pinterest.com/sunisthefuture
www.youtube.com/user/sunisthefuture
