Small Business Statistics: Key Insights and Trends in 2024

Are you thinking of LAUNCH A STARTUP? It is a FANTASTIC idea. 

The reason? 

Because millions of small businesses are already surviving. 

For example, according to Statista, there were 332 million SMBs in 2021. The whole story started in 2000 when there were 204 million small businesses. 

Such a Whooping Small Business Statistics don’t make you think about it? 

In the upcoming years, you could see 400 MILLION or above small businesses. That indicates how big it is an OPPORTUNITY. 

Curious? 

I will explain the different small business statistics to HIGHLIGHT their importance. 

Let’s learn more. 

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General Small Business Statistics

Small business seems to be SMALL. But it is a company with fewer employees working in it. 

There are MILLIONS of small businesses operating around the globe. 

I even thought of starting a small business.

And it is 200% IMPORTANT to know the different small business stats to get some motivation on how to start a small business. 

Let’s know the general small businesses’ stats. 

  • Around 332 million small businesses are operating around the GLOBE. By 2030, the figure will CROSS 400 Million small companies. 
  • In 2023, there are 33 million small businesses in the US. It consists of around 99.9% of the TOTAL number of US companies. Less than 0.1% of enterprises are large businesses in the US. 
  • Every year 1.5 JOBS are created by small businesses. It makes a 64% share in the TOTAL US jobs. Isn’t it very astonishing? 
  • 46% of the SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS purchased the license to start their startup. 35% of the small business owners have ACQUIRED another small business company. 21% of small business owners have started their journey from the ZERO. 
  • More than half of small businesses are out of COMPETITION. They fail in the primary stage. It may take a YEAR or so to quit their company. 
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Small Business Owners Statistics

Small business owners don’t belong to GENERATION X or Z only. Before I move to the different small business owner statistics, let me explain: 

  • Baby Boomers are aged 1946-64.
  • Generation X refers to 1965-80 born people. 
  • Generation Y refers to people born from 1980 to 1996.
  • Generation Z is the generation from 1997 to 2015.

During the different business eras, there has BEEN domination among different generations. 

Moreover, gender and race are two CRUCIAL FACTORS in exploring small business stats. 

Let’s know all this in detail. 

Age

An average small business owner in the DIFFERENT AGE group is given as: 

  • 46% of Generation X people own small businesses. 
  • 41% of small business ownership are under the age of Boomers. 
  • 13% of small businesses belong to the Millennials age group. 
  • Only 1% of small businesses are under the CONTROL of Generation Z. 
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Gender

Guess what will be on the TOP? Which business owners have the HIGHEST ratio in the business world? 

You are right if you have chosen males. It is BECAUSE of high exposure and skills for the male gender. 

Let’s find out the TOP SMALL BUSINESS STATISTICS in gender. 

  • 66% of small business owners are males. At the same time, 31% of small business owners are FEMALE. Rest 1% is still UNIDENTIFIED. 
  • In the US, 45% are women-owned firms. In contrast, 55% of small business owners are MALE in the US. 

Race

Race can be Hispanic, American, Asian, or African. 

Guess what owns the HIGHEST Number of small businesses. 

Let’s know whether you are RIGHT OR WRONG. 

  • The white race owns 70.8% of the small businesses in the world. 
  • Hispanic-owned businesses are 14.4%. 
  • Asian business ownership is a bit less than 6.2%. 
  • Black or African Americans own 6% of small businesses. 
  • 2.1% belong to the unknown category. 
  • American Indians and Alaska Natives own 0.5% of small businesses. 

Small Business Trends Statistics

Small employer businesses have a BIG NAME in the market. The reason is the DOMINATION of small business administration. 

Do you want to know business trends in different periods? 

Let’s know the Local businesses’ trends. 

  • 23% of the SMALL BUSINESS closed in 2020. The numbers VARY in different states and the area. For example, 9% to 10% of small businesses closed in IDAHO and COLORADO. Around 30% are locked in New York. 
  • Small business owners submitted 4.35 million applications for startups. There was an increase of 24% in the number of applications. It has shown an INCREASE of 74 percent since 2010. It

Small Business and Social Media Statistics

Do you own business? 

Online and DIGITAL channels like social media are a GREAT help. 

Social media channels support SMALL BUSINESSES to a greater extent. It is the SOCIAL MEDIA marketing or targeting of clients. 

So, how do social media and the small business world work? Let’s check. 

  • According to 64% of small businesses, social media has BEEN A significant part. It has helped in MARKETING strategies and driven more customers. 
  • 73% of marketers agree with the role of SOCIAL MEDIA in marketing. Facebook has been a TOP SOURCE for brands to target customers. 
  • Small businesses rely on SOCIAL MEDIA for digital marketing. 63% of companies have increased their SOCIAL MEDIA investments. 
  • Around 60% of people choose INSTA as their favorite platform to browse products. 
  • 86% of businesses use FACEBOOK for their product marketing. They might use it just for the CUSTOMER SERVICE. 
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Small Business Industry Statistics

I have a question. Do you think all small businesses have the SAME industry? Nope. Never. It can never happen that 330 million businesses have a SINGLE CATEGORY. 

The market demand helps small business owners plan their NICHE. Some will think about the manufacturing niche. The maximum percentage of small businesses is in EDUCATION and healthcare. 

Let’s know the industry with the maximum percentage of small businesses. 

  • The education and healthcare industry has 34,725 employees working in this industry. 
  • Professional and business services have 19,295 employees
  • The third rank goes to wholesale and retail business. It has 18,989 employees. 
  • The manufacturing industry has 14,718 employees. 
  • The leisure and hospitality industry has 12,635 employees
  • Construction has 11,271 employees working in this niche. 
  • Financial activities have 10,725 employees. 
  • Transportation and utilities have 9377 employees
  • Public administration has 7410 employees working in this field. 
  • Other services have 7186 employees working. 
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Small Business Marketing Statistics

Marketing strategy is KEY for business success. 

The more you invest in ADVERTISING, the more people know about your BRAND. The result is only success. 

Let’s know different marketing statistics. 

  • 47% of businesses plan to INVEST in marketing. 33% of companies plan to develop an ADVERTISING strategy. 
  • 64% of small businesses have their WEBSITES to sell products. 92% of companies plan to open their WEBSITES to facilitate customers. 
  • 31% of small businesses AIM AT DRIVING sales. 24.6% look for customer retention and engagement. 17.1% of companies aim to build brand awareness. 
  • 61% of small businesses consider social media for digital marketing. 

Small Business Finance Statistics

A small business fails in the PRIMARY PHASE due to financial challenges. 

Just imagine you are starting a small business. How can you even START without paying operating expenses? 

Don’t you think it is the FIRST STEP that fails you? 

Finance is REQUIRED for various purposes. Let’s talk about the FINANCIAL GROWTH STATS of a business. 

  • In 2019, 64% of SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS had insufficient funds. 93% of the small business owners calculated the SURVIVAL months. 
  • Owner equity in small businesses is just AROUND 13%. 6% belongs to the outsider equity. Personal debt is 4%, while business card debt is 7%. A personal loan is 13%, while small business loans are 19%. Family loan shares are around 5%. A Credit line is 16% of the TOTAL percentage of a small business. 
  • The World Bank has published a report about the unmet financing of small businesses. According to it, around 65 MILLION SMALL businesses have unmet needs of 5.2 trillion USD monthly
  • The annual revenue of SMALL BUSINESS is 64,000 USD. For multiple small companies, it ranges from $30K to $148K. 
  • Micro Businesses require the LEAST MONEY. Small businesses invest $2K or $3K to start their micro-level business. It includes less than ten employees
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Small Business Revenue Statistics

Small businesses doing what? 

Are you putting efforts into generating SOME PROFITS, right? Take it as a point for the revenues of the small businesses. 

Businesses create NEW JOBS and employ more people. A small company has around 10-100 employees working in it. There are even LESS THAN 10 Employees in some companies. 

A good business model does three THINGS. 

  • Produce successful small businesses
  • Drive more sales by deploying enough RESOURCES. 
  • Create new jobs to get MORE people to work. 

That is where a small business generates profit. Let’s take a look at the REVENUE of small businesses. 

  • The average revenue annually for a SMALL company is 44,000 USD. This small business statistic HOLDS for the firm without any employees. These are independent firms without employees working in them. 
  • Employer businesses make around 4.9 million USD per annum. 
  • 63% of the PROFITABLE small businesses generated HIGHER revenues. 
  • Three hundred thirty-two million small businesses made 13.3 TRILLION USD annually. It is such a BIG statistic. 
  • The average revenue of 86.3% of businesses is less than USD 100K annually. The majority of small companies include non-employer small businesses. 
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Global Small Business Statistics

Small business administration is a VERY STRENUOUS work. Small business owners work nights to let their dreams COME TRUE. 

That is why 100% of SMALL businesses contribute to the country’s economic growth 

Want to know in detail? 

Let’s dive deep into the LATEST small business statistics 

  • The total number of small businesses OPERATING worldwide is 332 million. These are not the SMALL FIGURES. 33.2 million small businesses exist in the US only. 
  • Small businesses have a SHARE of 45% of the GLOBAL GDP. They employ 64% of the TOTAL WORKFORCE
  • I have listed the US small businesses in different states. California has 4,203,260 small businesses being the TOP on the list. 
  • Texas is second on the LIST OF US small business administrations. It has 2,679,964 businesses operating in this state. 
  • Florida is third on the LIST. It has 2,494,279 businesses working. 
  • New York is FOURTH on the list. It has 2,168,799 small businesses
  • Illinois ranks FIFTH on the list. It has over 1.23 million businesses working in this US STATE. 
  • Over 1 million businesses are operating in Pennsylvania and Georgia. These states rank 6th and 7th on the list. 
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U.S. Small Business Statistics 

The United States has the TOP number of small businesses. 

I just studied a report Yesterday. According to it, the US has the most NUMBER of billionaires worldwide. Other countries rank after that. 

It shows HOW BIG the businesses are there. And how the economy of the US is supporting small business owners. 

Let’s know the new businesses working in the US. 

  • There are 32.5 million businesses in the US. In 2023, these will cross 33 million. Sooner or later, you’ll get access to the 40 or 50 million new businesses. It also has the MOST SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS only in the US. 
  • 99% of the BUSINESSES in the US are small businesses. Only 0.01% are out of the small business category. 98% of the businesses have less than 100 EMPLOYEES. 89% of the companies even have less than 20 workers working there. 
  • 61 MILLION Americans get new jobs from a US small business administration. It is around 46.9% of the TOTAL JOBS in the whole world. 
  • There has been a rise of more than 100% in the TOTAL number of small businesses. It has occurred since 1982. In the upcoming, you can EXPECT jumps of 20-30% in real small businesses. 
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Small Business Challenges

There are several challenges in the PATHWAY of small businesses. Small business SUCCESS depends on the handling of challenges like: 

  • Controlling the FUNDS. 
  • Business strategy must be ACCORDING to the given conditions. 
  • Financing the expenses. 
  • Finding the quality labor

Most businesses fail only due to LOW-quality labor. 

Do you want to know the CHALLENGING STATISTICS? 

Let’s take a review. 

  • 52% of the respondents have pointed out the LACK of labor quality. It is the BIGGEST problem. Most small business owners can not find the QUALIFIED EXPERTS. 
  • For a company with 50-plus employees, it is HARDER. 63% of the business owners have AGREED to this fact. 
  • 53% of small businesses consider inflation as the BIGGEST CHALLENGE. They think it failed them. 
  • 22% of the business owners agreed to the revenue generation. It is the BIGGEST PROBLEM among the people. In Q4 2022, 7 of 10 businesses said the PRICE INCREMENT was due to inflation. 
  • In Q3 2022, around 14% of the businesses said interest rates would be a BIG CHALLENGE. In Q4, 16% said the same. And it has shown a RAISED concern by 2% more business owners

COVID-19’s Affect on Small Businesses Statistics

COVID-19 has been a BIGGER blow to all types of industrial sectors. Whether it is manufacturing or EDUCATION, all faced the consequences. 

Lockdown for uncertain periods produced an ENVIRONMENT with complete uncertainty. Maintaining distance has been HARD for the people. 

Let’s know how it affected small businesses owned by people. 

  • 60% of FAMILY OWNED BUSINESSES shut down their activities in COVID-19. It was due to a lack of IMPORTS of raw materials and facilities. 
  • 23% of the businesses FACED a loss of revenue due to insufficient production. 
  • 11% of businesses got their BUDGET reduced due to decreased activities. 
  • 11% of the business temporarily shut down their FACILITIES due to lacking employees. No one was ready to job due to COVID-19 risks. Moreover, an international-level approach impacted it a lot. 
  • 10% of businesses cut EMPLOYEES’ wages to avoid business loans for survival. 
  • 7% of their businesses impacted the BASE of the company. 
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Success Rate for Small Businesses

Maintaining a CASH FLOW is essential to make a business profitable. If you own a business, you must KNOW different strategies on how to survive. 

Women-owned businesses have more SURVIVAL nature due to careful activities. Keeping an eye on the BUDGET for every move can bring up BETTER RESULTS. 

99% of small businesses QUITE in their first phase when they get NO SUCCESS. 

Let’s check out different stats. 

  • 65% of the businesses were PROFITABLE in the year 2022. It was an INCREASE of 25% in average small business since 2018. In 2018, these figures pointed to 40% of profitable trades. 
  • 35% of small businesses are FACING LOSSES. It has DECREASED from 60% in 2018 to 35% in 2022.
  • 77% of small businesses are CONFIDENT. They feel more optimistic about driving more sales. It also revealed that 38% plan to HIRE more workers. 42% are looking to INCREASE their investments. 
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How many small businesses fail?

Not all small businesses succeed in their journey. It takes TIME to become a NAME in the market. 

Thousands of small businesses don’t even EXIST now. Failed small businesses get eliminated from the MAP forever. 

However, consistent efforts have been the RESULT of success.

I have listed some stats on small business failure. 

  • 21.9% of small businesses fail in the FIRST YEAR of their journey. 
  • 31.8% of small businesses fail in the 2nd year of the journey. Reasons can be anything. Either poor cash flow or ineffective marketing. 
  • 39.7% of the businesses don’t even see the 4th year of their BUSINESS. In the 3rd, they die due to many CHALLENGING REASONS. 
  • 45.7% of the businesses fail in the 4th year. They can not see the FIFTH summer for their business. 
  • 50% of the company just QUIT in the first five years. 
  • 53.6% of the businesses don’t have a good journey after six years. In the first six years, they quit. 
  • 57.7% of small businesses fail in the first seven years of their business. 
  • 61% of small businesses fail in the 8th year. 
  • 63.2% fail in the nine years of their business. 
  • 65.7% of small businesses fail in the first ten years. 
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How many jobs do small businesses create?

A Small business DEVELOPS not only the owner but also the economy. 

For example, I open a startup by LAUNCHING NEW products. I want to hire the PEOPLE for manufacturing setup and other liabilities. Each step will involve the new workers. It indicates how a COMPANY helps bring new jobs. 

It is not only VALUABLE for small business ownership but also for the country. 

Let’s take a look. 

  • Between 2019 to 2020, small businesses created 9.1 MILLION NEW JOBS. From 2020 to 2021, these figures have been reduced to 8.7 MILLION JOBS. Still, these are not SMALL NUMBERS to SUPPORT a country. 
  • During COVID-19, there was a 60% decline in jobs. 5.5 million jobs were CREATED during that period. 
  • Small businesses have CREATED 12.9 million new positions in the PAST 25 years. 2 out of 3 jobs are added to the ECONOMY. 
  • From 1994 to 2011, small businesses contributed 64% to the NEW POSITIONS
  • Nearly HALF of the employees in the US work in their own business. 
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What’s Next

Starting a SMALL STARTUP can be beneficial. 

  • Less investment is required. 
  • You get READY before launching a bigger brand. 
  • Mental and financial stress is VERY LESS. 

Why wait, then? Just take a LOOK at whopping stats. These show how important it is to start a small business. 

If you want more stats like that, visit our website. You’ll get LATESTS stats. 

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Sharline

Article by:

Sharline Shaw

Hey I'm Sharline, the founder of Leeline Sourcing. With 10 years of experience in the field of sourcing in China, we help 2000+ clients import from China,Alibaba,1688 to Amazon FBA or shopify. If you have any questions about sourcing , pls feel free to contact us.