Small Business Expo Releases “2021 State Of Small Business Trends Report”

Just in time for National Small Business Week, The Small Business Expo, America’s largest business networking and educational event for business owners, start-ups, and entrepreneurs, has released its 2021 State of Small Business Trends Report.

According to Zachary Lezberg, CEO and Founder, Small Business Expo, “There are 30.2 million small businesses in the US according to the Small Business Administration. This means 99.9% of all businesses are, in fact, small businesses. Yet the struggles, concerns, and issues facing small business in America are rarely talked about. With access to over a million small business owners, we wanted to take a pulse of how they are feeling post COVID, determine their outlook on the future, and other key factors which impact doing business circa 2021.”

Through our biannual survey implemented by the Small Business Expo, small business owners weighed in on everything from governmental regulation of small business to their opinions on the minimum wage increase, employee diversity, and work from home policies going forward. Read more including the report at prnewswire.com.

As small businesses slowly recover, financial help becomes more targeted. Here’s what’s available

 Almost 98,0000 businesses closed permanently during the pandemic, according to September data released by Yelp. That represents 60% of closed business that won’t be reopening.

In general, about 20% of small businesses fail within a year and about half survive five years or longer, according to the SBA.

Now, optimism among small business owners is starting to creep back up, according to a number of surveys.

Nearly two-thirds (64%) of entrepreneurs now say their business can survive more than a year under current business conditions, up from 55% last quarter, according to the second quarter CNBC|SurveyMonkey Small Business Survey.WATCH NOWVIDEO01:34Music venues fight for survival amid the pandemic

In addition, Yelp found that there were more than 500,000 new businesses that opened in the past year, down only 11% year over year. New business openings in the first quarter of 2021 reached their highest levels in the last 12 months. Read more at cnbc.com.

Black Entrepreneurs – 2021 Trends: Who are Black Small Business Owners in America?

The largest subset of People of Color (POC) small business owners in America, Black entrepreneurs are an essential part of our small business economy.

With women making up 46 percent of Black entrepreneurs, this group shows one of the highest percentages of female small business owners in any segment – 53 percent higher than white small business owners. The plurality (33 percent) of surveyed Black small business owners had Bachelor’s degrees. The next most common level of education was Master’s degrees, at 26 percent.

Black small business owners skew younger than their white peers. Twenty-seven percent of Black entrepreneurs are boomers, compared to 46 percent, 49 percent are Gen X compared to 43 percent, 21 percent are Millennials compared to 11 percent, and three percent are Gen Z, compared to less than one percent of white small business owners.

The majority (36 percent) of Black small business owners decided to go into business for themselves because they were ready to become their own boss. Twenty-four percent wanted to pursue their passion, 17 percent were inspired with a new business idea, and 17 percent were dissatisfied with corporate America. The plurality (42 percent) of Black entrepreneurs are very happy as small business owners. Read more at guidantfinancial.com.

“I had to make my own living and my own opportunity. But I made it! Don’t sit down and wait for the opportunities to come. Get up and make them.” — Madam C.J. Walker

How Female Hispanic Business Owners are Fueling the Economy

Latina-owned small businesses are the fastest-growing segment of the business community in the United States, playing a key role in fueling the nation’s economy. How do they do it? With perseverance, education, and a lot of guts.

There are over two million Latina-owned businesses in the country, a growth of more than 87% since 2007, according to the National Women’s Business Council. These businesses are helping to fuel the U.S. economy. Nonetheless, many potential Latina business owners—and even those who already have a business—aren’t sure of the options available to help them get started or to reach the next level. Read more at legalzoom.com.

Hispanic businesses hard hit by the pandemic, but key to the recovery

According to the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, there are over 4.7 million Hispanic-owned businesses in the US, which, combined, contribute over $700 billion to the American economy each year. One in four US small businesses is Hispanic-owned, and 75% of new businesses in the US are being started by Hispanics, according to Cesar Conde, Chairman of NBC Universal Telemundo Enterprises and NBCUniversal International Group. 

It has been widely reported that Hispanics and Latinos have been impacted by COVID-19 at a greater rate than the general US population. But the virus has also affected Hispanic businesses disproportionally. According to a recent report by McKinsey, the five business sectors most affected by COVID-19-related shutdowns (leisure and hospitality, retail, transportation, construction, and ‘other’) generate almost 50% of the revenues of all Hispanic and Latino-owned businesses. Sixty-five percent of Hispanics and Latinos work in these sectors. 

With Hispanic businesses making up such an integral part of the US economy, their recovery is closely linked to the economic recovery as a whole. 

According to the McKinsey report, “Hispanic and Latino population growth means the country’s long-term recovery is inextricable from the recovery of Hispanic and Latino families, communities and businesses. Indeed, the community’s unique assets—such as its relative youth and above-average rates of entrepreneurship—can contribute to more equitable post-pandemic recovery and growth.” Read more at hiscox.com.

Covid-19 Has Turned More Millennials Into Serial Entrepreneurs

As the world starts to look towards a COVID-free future with the introduction of vaccines, the nine months that have passed since the start of the pandemic saw significant disruption to industries and attitudes, particularly in relation to work.

Millennials have reflected on their career choices, adapted to remote working, and made decisions on where they want to live and how they want their lives to be. They have also been tapping into their entrepreneurial side and launching new businesses and pursuing their passions.

Pre-pandemic, it was thought that around half of millennials in the United States had some kind of side-gig, whether that be to make ends meet or because of an entrepreneurial flair that drove them to develop new things. Common examples include developing a website, selling homemade products such as jewelry or art, or working a part-time job in something unrelated to their main income stream. These side-hustles saw millennials generate additional income that outpaced other generations, earning on average an additional $10,000 per year from their extra work. Read more at forbes.com.

“To be successful, you have to have your heart in your business, and your business in your heart.” – Thomas Watson Sr., chairman and CEO of International Business Machines

39 Entrepreneur Statistics You Need to Know in 2021

Small businesses and ambitious enterprises are at the heart of every industry. Not only do they immensely contribute to the overall revenue of a country, but they also have a beneficial effect on the workers themselves. 

Employees who decide to make the switch and become independent employers feel more fulfilled and motivated to work. There are a lot of inspirational entrepreneur statistics out there that show us the US is still the best place in the world to become your own boss and start something new.

Now, young entrepreneurs are mostly concerned about the risks that come with new businesses, including funding, staff, and success rate. Indeed, a large number of business owners rely on loans to keep the company operational and often have to use their personal funds to tie some loose ends. 

However, loans also help them expand their business and achieve more within their industries. Finding high-quality staff is no easy task, which is why many owners decide to go it alone, at least for a while. It is necessary to understand that the entrepreneurship failure rate has never been lower, with only 22.5% of businesses closing after a year. Read more including statistics at smallbizgenius.net.

Older Small Biz Owners Tell AARP How They Survived 2020

Many entrepreneurs age 45 and older turned to government resources to help their businesses survive the economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to new research from AARP and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

After using data from the Federal Reserve’s Small Business Credit Survey to identify trends among older entrepreneurs, AARP conducted in-depth interviews with 25 small business owners over the age of 45 between November 2020 and January 2021.

The discussions revealed that these business owners were resourceful in finding government programs that could offer financial assistance. Eighteen of the business owners had received a federal Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan (which could become a grant), six had received a Small Business Administration Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL), and five had secured some other federal, state or local loan or grant.

Most of those interviewed said managing their businesses during the pandemic has been very challenging, requiring them to pivot swiftly in order to stay afloat. In addition to the increased use of teleconferencing technologies such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams to stay in contact with their employees and clients, many of these entrepreneurs also said they have had to launch or upgrade their digital marketing strategies, websites and online sales techniques. Read more at aarp.org.

99 Black Women-Owned Brands and Entrepreneurs to Support Now and Always

Over the past year, women started an average of 1,817 new businesses per day in the U.S., and Women of Color account for 89% (1,625) of those new businesses. In fact, according to the State of Women-Owned Businesses Report, Black women-owned businesses represented the highest rate of growth of any group in the number of firms between 2014 and 2019 as well as between 2018 and 2019.

When looking at specific minority groups over the last five years, growth in side-entrepreneurship is up 99% among Black women. They started an impressive 42% of net new women-owned businesses, which is three times their share of the female population (14%).

This study calls the women behind these rapidly-launching businesses “necessity entrepreneurs” because, due to higher unemployment rates, long-term unemployment, and vast gender and racial pay gaps, women of color start businesses out of the need to survive. And these Black female entrepreneurs are changing the game but they’re not the first. Read more at creatcultivate.com.