Don’t let anyone tell you different - small business has a big impact on the United States economy. Studies indicate that small businesses account for 50 percent or $3.3 trillion of the Gross Domestic Product and make up 92 percent of all U.S. businesses. According to 2004 statistics from the U.S. Small Business Administration reported by SCORE®, there are 23.7 million small businesses in this country, and they employ half of the country’s private workforce. Not only have small businesses generated 60 to 80 percent of net new jobs over the last decade, but they also have provided us with the majority of innovations that have come from U.S. companies.

Based on results of a December 2005 survey done by Stephen B. Pociask, TeleNomic Research, LLC, for the Small Business Administration, 57 percent of small businesses are in urban areas and 43 percent are in rural areas. Rural small businesses average 5.4 employees, while urban small businesses average 11.3 employees. And according to this research, half of small businesses access the Internet via a broadband connection of some kind.

A report from Entrepreneur magazine lists hot markets for small businesses in 2006. These include niche food businesses like tea shops, one-food restaurants and chocolate cafes; security businesses like shredding services and identity theft prevention; digital device accessories; B2B services like consulting and staffing; and kid-related businesses like party/activity centers, educational toys and products and cooking for kids

Women-owned firms are growing at more than twice the rate of all U.S. firms (23 percent vs. 9 percent), and it is estimated that 10 million privately held business in the U.S. are women-owned.

According to American Express, small business owners look to the following sources for advice:

• individual mentors – 52 percent
• social networks – 51 percent
• trade associations – 44 percent
• business advisors – 36 percent
• the Internet – 31 percent
• Chambers of Commerce – 27 percent

As a side note, women are more likely to seek business advice than men.