How important are small businesses to the U.S. economy?

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By Phillip Torrone
Posted 2010/05/18 @ 5:58 pm
Category General

Small businesses workin’ it… via UPS blog -

According to the Small Business Administration (SBA), small businesses in the U.S. employ over 50 percent of the private sector and shell out 44 percent of the private sector pay. Small-business owners are the backbone of our economy (PDF here).

At Maker Faire I’ll be doing a talk (and likely a lot of informal chatters) about running your own kit business. It’s mostly sharing information, what has worked and what hasn’t… Sunday, 5/23 3:00pm, Open Source Hardware Businesses, MAKE magazine booth, Make: Projects Stage. Over the last 3-4 years I’ve seen attendees turn in to featured makers and featured makers turn in to thriving businesses. Make (Maker Shed) as well as many others have also taken off in the last few years, it’s a wonderful time to make things and make good businesses – see you at Maker Faire!

In the Maker Shed

2 Responses to How important are small businesses to the U.S. economy?

TotalMonkey on May 18th, 2010 at 8:32 pm said:

There will be video, right? For those of that cannot make it out to Cali?

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Bill Coleman on May 21st, 2010 at 6:55 am said:

http://www.businessbrief.com/health-reform-means-more-paperwork-for-small-biz/

“Buried in the new health act is a measure mandating that you issue 1099s â€” lots of â€˜em â€” to many vendors, not just contractors.

As your A/P people certainly know, a Form 1099 is used almost exclusively to document payments to contract workers. Make that it was used almost exclusively for contract workers. As of 2012, businesses will have to issue a 1099 to just about any vendor for goods or services totaling more than $600.

Consider the possibilities of how the law will work in practice:

* You buy a new computer for your business from a store. Youâ€™ll have to 1099 the store.
* You buy the computer online from Appleâ€™s Web site. Youâ€™ll have to 1099 Apple Corp.
* A local office-supply outlet delivers computer-printer paper to your business. As soon as the purchase amount hits more than $600, youâ€™ll have to 1099 the outlet.
* You hire a plumber to come in and do repairs in your building. The bill comes to more than $600. Youâ€™ll have to 1099 the plumber.”

Great, just what I need, more paperwork! Instead of creating and doing, I’ll be chasing paper! YUK!

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