21-25
Dates in April during which National Small Business Week will celebrate the small-business community and its many achievements; events will take place in Washington, D.C., New York City and other U.S. cities
Source: Small Business Administration (SBA)

< 500
How the United States Small Business Association defines a small business, based on the number of people in the business (with many, many exceptions for various industries) — while the United Kingdom and the European Union specify it as fewer than 50 and Australia defines it as any company with fewer than 20 employees.
Sources: SBA, Department for Business Enterprise & Regulatory Reform, Activities of the European Union and University of Newcastle

$2.6 Billion
Amount of money small businesses realized in first-year cost savings and 285 million in annual recurring savings as a result of FY2007 efforts to help agencies comply with the Regulatory Flexibility Act
Source: SBA Report on the Regulatory Flexibility Act

26.8 Million
Estimated number of small businesses in 2006
Source: SBA Office of Advocacy

50. 9 Percent
Percentage of all private non-farm employees hired by small businesses in 2004
Source: SBA Office of Advocacy (November 2007)

6.5 Million
Number of women-owned firms in 2002, revenues of which were $940.8 billion
Source: SBA Office of Advocacy (November 2007)

1.6 Million
Number of small businesses owned by Hispanics in 2002
Source: SBA Office of Advocacy (November 2007)

1.2 Million
Number of small businesses owned by African Americans in 2002
Source: SBA Office of Advocacy (November 2007)

1.1 Million
Number of small businesses owned by Asians in 2002
Source: SBA Office of Advocacy (November 2007)

99.7 Percent
The percentage of American businesses that small businesses make up
Source: SBA Office of Advocacy: FAQ

50 Percent
Small businesses employ about half of all private-sector employees. These firms also created more than half of non-farm private gross domestic product
Source: The Small Business Share of GDP, 1998-2004 (SBA, April 2007)

45 Percent
Small businesses pay more than 45 percent of the total U.S. private payroll
Source: SBA Office of Advocacy: FAQ

60-80 Percent
Small businesses generated 60 percent to 80 percent of net new jobs yearly over the last decade
Source: SBA Office of Advocacy: FAQ

22.8 Percent
The percentage of small-business suppliers for federal prime contracts in fiscal year 2006
Source: SBA Office of Advocacy: FAQ

40 Percent
Small businesses hire 40 percent of high-tech workers such as scientists, engineers and information technology workers
Source: SBA Office of Advocacy: FAQ

52 Percent
Percentage of small businesses run from homes, two percent of which are franchises
Source: SBA Office of Advocacy: FAQ

84,000
Net number of new small businesses in 2006; there were 649,700 new firms, but 564,900 closed that year
Source: SBA Office of Advocacy: FAQ

2/3
The fraction of new small businesses that survive at least two years; 44 percent survive at least four years
Source: Survival and Longevity in the Business Employment Dynamics Database, Monthly Labor Review, May 2005 (via SCORE)

2 Percent
The percentage of small businesses (out of 5,000) that own patents during their first year
Source: Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation (KFS), March 2008

60 Percent
Percentage of small businesses (out of 5,000) that had no employees in their first year
Source: KFS

37 Percent
Percentage of new small businesses (out of 5,000) that had no revenue in their first year
Source: KFS

$100+ Million
Amount of money loaned to U.S. servicemen and -women interested in starting or expanding a business in the last eight months through the SBA's Patriot Express Loan Initiative
Source: SBA, March 2008

HEADACHES

89.6
The small business optimism index as of March 2008 — the lowest reading since the second quarter of 1980, when it was 80.1
Source: National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), April 2008

Most Important Problems Facing Small Biz:

74 Percent
Percentage of small-business owners/members (out of 735) who responded "reducing health care costs/the increase in health care costs" when asked the single most serious issue facing our health care system today
Source: NFIB Health-Care Survey NFIB Research Foundation

14 Percent
Percentage of small firms, with fewer than 10 employees, that went out of business from 1990 to 2004, due in large part to currency exchange rates
Source: SBA/American University, March 2008

7 Percent
Percentage of small firms, with 10-19 employees, that went out of business from 1990 to 2004
Source: SBA/American University, March 2008

5 Percent
Percentage of small firms, with 20-499 employees, that went out of business from 1990 to 2004
Source: SBA/American University, March 2008

46
Percentage out of to nearly 100 respondents that include business owners, vice presidents of procurement and purchasing directors of small and midsize U.S. manufacturers who rank raw-materials costs as the greatest cost pressure; followed by energy costs (17.5 percent), logistics and the supply chain (16.4 percent), inflation (8 percent), labor costs (4 percent), foreign competitors (3.4 percent) and health-care costs (1.7 percent)
Source: Prime Advantage, February 2008

Earlier: Small Biz Bullets: The Outlook