Small Business and Community – Join the Conversation!

Is there a voice of small business that has gone unheard in your community?  I can’t tell you how many times over the years I’ve been told that the needs of small business are misunderstood, that community leaders are focused on big picture issues that don’t reflect the day to day concerns of small business.  Around the country this focus is trending toward change in recognition of the contribution of small business to net new job growth.  Economist Kelly Edmiston reports in “The Role of Small and Large Businesses in Economic Development” that:

“Data published by the U.S. Census Bureau clearly show that the bulk of net new jobs are generated by firms with less than 20 employees (emphasis added). Net new jobs are the total of new jobs created by firm startups and expansions (gross job creation) minus the total number of jobs destroyed by firm closures and contractions (gross job destruction). From 1990 to 2003, small firms (less than 20 employees) accounted for 79.5 percent of the net new jobs. . .”

If the dialogue is not shifting in your community, perhaps its time for small business leaders to drive the conversation!  I think so, and I’m going to start that conversation right here at home.  What do you think?  Is your town ready to talk about the role of small business from the business perspective?

Click here to learn more about the Anchorage Small Business Survey.