For any of us that are feeling like we’re out there on a limb by ourselves, the Small Business Administration (SBA) recently came out with some interesting new statistics that may offer a glimpse of hope that you’re not out there alone.

In essence, they say there’s nothing small about small business. We’re important to the economy, both in job and economic growth as we represent 99.7% of all employer firms and businesses that have a staff of 20 or less employ about half of all private sector employees!

The number of new small businesses has even steadily grown over the past few years with over half being home-based. More than 45% of the total U.S. private payroll is paid by small business and I know what you’re thinking. Some days it feels like you’re paying for EVERYBODY!

Small business generates 60-80% of net new jobs annually over the last decade and they report that two-thirds of new employer establishments survive at least two years, and 44% survive at least four years (results were similar for different industries).

Forbes magazine ran a review of the report and offered this observation:

Will the good times keep rolling? The SBA won’t make predictions on small-business growth, though the massive sector, as a whole tends to track–nay, some say it leads–the economy as a whole. A recent survey by credit card outfit Discover, a unit of Morgan Stanley, reports that entrepreneurs’ spirits are high heading into the next six months.

Not that growth is on every entrepreneur’s mind. According to the National Federation of Independent Businesses, a conservative-leaning lobbying group, only about half of small firms want to grow–and fewer than 10% aspire to become “growth firms.”

Now that we’ve established you’re the backbone of the economy (well, at least a piece of it) we’d love to hear your thoughts about your growth plans. If you have time, email us at contact@realbusinessmatters.com