Most Businesses Are Small Business

Although many people associate the term business with corporate goliaths like ExxonMobil, Ford, PepsiCo, Wal-Mart, and Microsoft, nine of 10 firms with employees have fewer than 20 people on staff, and 98 percent have fewer than 100 employees. The vast majority of U.S. businesses have no pay-roll at all: Over 14 million people in the U.S. are earning business income without any employees. Almost half the sales in the U.S. are made by small businesses.

Small business is also the launching pad for entrepreneurs from every sector of the diverse U.S. economy. One third of the nation’s 17 million small businesses are owned by women. Hispanic-owned businesses account for 4 percent of all U.S. businesses with fewer than 100 employees. African Americans own another 3.6 percent, and Asian Americans 3.5 percent.