How Small is Small?

Well, the Small Business Administration (SBA) considers most retail and service businesses in the USA as “small” if they make less than $6.5 million a year. So raise your hand if your business brings in less than that?

A count of hands (including mine and likely yours) shows there are 27 million businesses that don’t make that much. Which is pretty much every business in the US—99.7%.

But earnings aside, many SBA-defined “small businesses” can have up to 500 employees. Seriously? That’s not small. By my definition, the business is small if I can have the team over for dinner.

And most small business teams actually could fit in my apartment, if not around my microscopic IKEA dining table. There are 20 million small businesses that employ fewer than 10 people, putting them in a different league. Those small shops are considered micro-businesses. Now that’s what I call small!

And then there are the millions of folks like me who are a Business of One. Whether you call us sole proprietors or solopreneurs, a business can’t get any smaller than that :)

Which is all to say, when you feel like you’re the only one struggling to stay profitable with a handful of people—be assured that you’re not.

In fact, you’re one in 20 million…and you’re in excellent company.

Photo credit: Microsoft Design Gallery Live