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Small Business Statistics | Which are the riskiest and which are the safest?
The lending institutions along with banks will have these
figures at hand and the kind of small business you want to start
will play heavily in your business plan and profit projections.
Did you know that according to the Small Business
Administration...
* there were approximately 22.9 million small businesses in the
U.S. in 2002.
* there were an estimated 550,100 new employer businesses in
2002 -- a 0.9 percent increase over the previous year.
* small businesses hire a larger proportion of employees who
are younger workers, older workers, and part-time workers.
* business bankruptcies were 38,155 in 2002, about half of the
level reached in the late 1980's.
Also, small businesses...
* provide approximately 75 percent of the net new jobs added to
the economy.
* represent 99.7 percent of all employers.
* employ 50.1 percent of the private work force.
* provide 40.9 percent of private sales in the country.
* account for 39.1 percent of jobs in high technology sectors
in 2001.
* account for 52 percent of private sector output in 1999.
* represent 97 percent of all U.S. exporters.
Small Business Profits from Sole Proprietorships reported in the
Business Risk Index Reports:
Of ALL the "Sole Proprietorships" in the US, 74.9% reported
profits with 25.1% reporting losses with "surveying & mapping
(except geophysical) service businesses" reporting the highest
profits at 93.7 % and "hunting and trapping businesses"
reporting the lowest with only 23.6% of these businesses showing
a profit.
Some of the safest businesses included: Residential building
construction (85.9% of these businesses reported profits)
Administrative and support services (84.6% of these businesses
reported profits)
Home health care services (83.5% of these businesses reported
profits)
Personal and laundry services (81.5% of these businesses
reported profits)
In the mid range of profits reported the businesses included:
61.4% of Wood Product businesses claimed profits
57.6% of Performing Arts businesses claimed profits
50.7% of Miscellaneous Store retailers claimed profits
The riskiest businesses included: Scenic and sightseeing
transportation businesses (66.2% of these businesses claimed
losses) Computer and electronic product businesses (64.6% of
these businesses claimed losses) Commodity contracts brokers and
dealers (63.4% of these businesses claimed losses) Video tape
and disc rental businesses (51.6% of these businesses claimed
losses)
(More of these facts can be found at: www.bizstats.com and the
SBA at www.sba.gov)
Small Business Survival Rates | Small Business Openings &
Closings:
*There were 572,900 new businesses, and 554,800*business
closures. *Two-thirds of new employer firms survive at least two
years, and about half survive at least four.
*66% of new establishments started in 1998 were still operating
two years after they started; 44% were still operating four
years later in 2002. Findings do not differ greatly across
industrial sectors.
Source: U.S. Small Business Administration, June 2004. *Not all
closures were due to bankruptcies. Survival and Longevity in the
Business Employment Dynamics Data, which appears in the May 2005
edition of Monthly Labor Review.
Entrepreneurship among seniors is growing.
In 2002, the rate of self-employment for the workforce was 10.2%
(13.8 million workers), but the rate for workers aged 50 was
16.4% (5.6 million workers). Although those age 50 made up 25%
of the workforce, they comprised 40 of the self-employed. Solo
business formation in the future will be driven by people who
take early retirement or whose jobs just disappear. Source:
AARP/Rand Corp. "Self-employment and the 50 Population"
About the author:
About the Author: Rebecca Game is the founder of Digital Women,
an online community for women in business. A 30 year
entrepreneur and dedicated to helping other women. Visit her
site: Loans
for Women
http://loans.digital-women.com