Small Businesses in the U.S. are defined as those organizations that employ less than 500 people. And all statistics revealed by the various agencies and the surveys they’ve conducted point to the important role that these business units have long been playing in boosting the American economy. Here are a few impressive statistics that emphasize my point:

•    99 per cent of independent companies in the U.S. employ lesser than 500 people, qualifying them as small businesses.
•    52.6 million Americans work for small businesses. 19.6 million of these are employed by companies that have less than 20 workers, 18.4 million work for organizations that employ between 20 and 99 employees and 14.6 million work for firms employing 100 to 499 workers. If this doesn’t sound impressive enough as a standalone fact, couple it with the interesting stats that reveal that 47.7 million Americans work for companies with over 500 employees, and you’ll see what I’m talking about.

A key feature that makes it important for the government to take this sector into consideration is the dynamic growth it has shown in the past. Between the years of 1990 and 1995, small businesses were responsible for over three-fourths of the new jobs created. The number of female-run businesses alone grew a whopping 89 per cent in a decade (1987-1997), a number that translates to an eye-popping 8.1 million. It’s also hard to turn a blind eye to the fact that it was as small businesses that many of today’s current corporate giants started off.  From Microsoft to FedEx to America Online, Nike and Ben & Jerry’s, all grew out of small businesses.