The American business revolution April 23rd, 2007
Great article in Entrepreneur magazine titled "The American Business Revolution". What is staggering to see is the great shift from employment to small business increases — between 1980 and 2005, 5 million jobs were lost in Fortune 500 companies while 34 million new jobs were created in small businesses. Also, 18 million new small businesses were created between 1977 and 2006. Such a great shift from being an employee to being an employer for so many people.
You and I are a part of this trend. Little wonder that there are so many service companies out there whose job it is to service small businesses. It is a huge and growing market selling to small businesses.
Entrepreneurship has emerged as the most potent economic force the world has experienced. Australia is going through a similar trend as the USA. Three out of five employable people are employed or are the owners of a small business. This means that Australia is the land of the small business. On the Gold Coast (near Brisbane, Qld.) this figure rises to four out of five employable people are employed in or own a small business. The growth market to provide services, or sell products to, is the small business end of the spectrum.
The important thing to understand is that the vast majority of small businesses are not competing with the large end of town. Nearly 75% of small businesses find their market in niche areas, including businesses that market to minority populations (e.g. Hispanics, Black, Chinese) or businesses that provide footwear to the aging population selling the type of footwear that can fit around corns, arthritic feet etc.
Some interesting food to chew on here. There are some lessons to be taken with this knowledge. If your business does not seem to be taking off, then maybe you are not focussed on a suitable niche, or you may be trying to compete with large business. Maybe you are selling to large business and have declining sales; this might be the time to start selling to small businesses — the growth end of town.
Or perhaps this news is a validation of what is happening to your business right now.