The country’s employment rate can show how well its residents are taken care of and how good the economy is as small businesses provide many workplaces to people of different professions. But how exactly do these companies affect employment, and how important is it to support them with state funding?
Current Employment in the US
Small businesses employed approximately 59.9 million people in the US during 2019, but the pandemic launched a freefall of employment. However, with many small businesses finding it easier to enter the market, the unemployment rate in this segment doesn’t increase rapidly. Thus, in 2020, regardless of the pandemic situation, there were already 60.6 million people employed by small businesses in the US.
Small Businesses Impacts
A business is considered small if it has less than 500 people in its workforce. Statistics show that small businesses are anchors of the economy and make up most of the country’s available companies in the US. According to the US Small Business Administration, there are about 30.7 million small businesses in the United States, accounting for 99.9% of all companies.
Small businesses create jobs and don’t require most of their hired help to be experts in their field, giving many individuals the opportunity to be employed. Besides, as small businesses continue to run and grow, the number of employees increases.
Funding Small Businesses
As all businesses need capital to start, small businesses do too. But because of their small scale, the funds required to start such a company aren’t too much. There are available programs, loans, and other ways that these businesses can accumulate money to get them up and running. Below is more information about them.
Small Business Administration (SBA) Programs
SBA provides useful help or relief options to eligible businesses to help them support and finance their organization or enterprise, which is especially useful due to the pandemic. Here are some of their available programs:
- Paycheck Protection Program (PPP)
- COVID-19 EIDL
- SBA Debt Relief
Other Sources of Funds
Aside from the SBA programs, small businesses can get their funds from other sources. Here are different ways, institutions, and platforms that can help fund a small business:
- Self-Funding
Business owners can choose to get the funds from their own savings, money, or from people they know, like their friends and families.
- Investors
There are also investors who provide capital for small business funds. There are different arrangements a business owner can make with investors. One option is that there’ll be no debt or loan with investors, only that the investor will have a position and some control over the business.
- Loans
Institutions and banks offer loans for small businesses, and it will depend if the business is credit-worthy based on their standards. Aside from them, online loans are accessible with the use of the internet. Platforms like Payday Depot offer loans online, and they usually grant applications faster than banks and other institutions.
Do You Want to Start a Small Business?
Funds help support and give life to a business, especially to their workforce. Besides, small businesses affect the whole economy in general, influencing factors such as growth in the community and innovations in products and services. Due to this tremendous contribution, small businesses receive sufficient state funding, making them a potentially worthy endeavor even during crisis times, depending on their specialization.
