Small businesses are all the rage in the USA right now. It started during the early COVID-19 pandemic situation. A global push came to shove the working class in different sectors ( the blue-collar job market saw the most brutal catastrophe.
And it was a time to bounce back.
A July 2020 census data suggests that more than 550,000 Americans applied paperworks to start a business.
That’s not all; the U.S. government has constantly been supporting citizens in starting their businesses.
They help people get advice, funding, and abundant economic opportunities that fuel the entrepreneurial spirit of the USA.
With all the support from the government, the proliferation of technology, and the markets booming across industries, starting a small business only feels RIGHT at this moment.
So, if you are still thinking, “Why should I start a business?” you are just a tiny step away from acknowledging your entrepreneurial journey, and this article might help you take that one more step.
Reasons To Start A Business In The USA, NOW
Here are some reasons in support of starting a small business in the USA now. The
1. Supportive Ecosystem
The USA government has created a really safe and supportive ecosystem where the entrepreneurs of the new age can thrive. They have done so by removing the biggest challenge for entrepreneurs, which is funding.
Whether starting a small bakery business or expanding a local fast food store by giving franchises, entrepreneurs need funding.
Struggling small business entrepreneurs can seek out both loans and grants with support from the U.S. government. Here, let us help you learn –
The Small Business Administration has personalized loan options for different types of businesses at different phases through Lender Match.
Startup owners can choose from startup business loans like –
- 7(a)
- 504 loans
- Microloans
Getting funding for small businesses is easier and safer with the risk-averse SBA-granted loan options. Plus, these loans come with different benefits enjoyed by the business owners and borrowers.
Benefits of SBA-guaranteed loans
Business owners enjoy the following benefits when seeking an SBA-guaranteed loan –
- Competitive terms:These loans have comparatively lower fees and interest rates and are close to being non-guaranteed loans. The terms of the loans are customizable to help business owners return as per their capabilities.
- Education: Some loans provide continued support where business owners can get continuous coaching and education to run a business.
- Unique Benefits: Selected SBA-guaranteed loans come with unique benefits like flexible overhead requirements, lower down payments, and no extra collateral.
Government-Backed Grants
The U.S. government makes funding opportunities easy for startup owners through Grants.gov. It’s a U.S. government website hosting more than 1000 funding opportunities for small business owners.
Their community blogs, with hundreds of blog posts, continue to help business owners understand the process of availing grants for small businesses.
The small business grants are broken down into different parts, such as – Federal Government grants, State government grants and Local Grants.
Many big businesses and companies also provide assistance to small businesses as a philanthropic gesture and launch grant programs. American Express, Venmo, Amazon, and FedEx are known for launching certain grant programs collaboratively with the U.S. government to provide small businesses a helping hand.
The platform USBusinessgrants.org itself lists four options where businesses get
- Government Grants
- General & Foundation Grants
- Industry-Specific grants
- Minority/Women Owned grants
So, whether you are seeking a loan or a grant, Opportunities aren’t running out.
2. Networking Events & Mentorship Programs
Call it a collective effort of the U.S. government and big corporate businesses or something devised by the universe, it shows. The USA has abundant helpful platforms where startup owners and entrepreneurs can network.
Platforms, like the SBA or Grants.gov, are already there to help. But, other big networking platforms like Business Network International, USchambers.com, LinkedIN, and Facebook are also there to help business owners expand their connection.
Whether you want to share ideas or find talents, these networking platforms gives you helping hand regarding your funding needs and stuffing the right human resource.
Wait, there’s more. There is immense opportunity for learning if you want industry-specific mentors to teach you with the ‘know-hows.’ Abundant mentorship opportunities, both free and paid, are there to help entrepreneurs of the new age shine. Let’s check some true examples –
Small Business Development Centers, or SBDC, a U.S. government organization, has been mentoring and working as a business hub to help entrepreneurs access external resources.
Score Mentors is another entrepreneur mentorship program helping small business owners turn their business around as a non-profit mentorship platform. They focus on building a mentor-mentee relationship, which really helps entrepreneurs in the long run.
3. Diverse Market
Small businesses in the U.S. form the bedrock of the USA economy. Recent data revealed by SBA suggests that 33.3 million businesses are operational in the USA. These businesses have been employing a massive portion of the country’s citizen and contributing to the economy.
Some Growing Small Business Industries
Keeping the bigger picture of the economy aside – small businesses form a huge market and are open to a broad market of consumers. As a business owner, it is your time to take part in this huge market growing across industries.
Doesn’t sound convincing? Perhaps looking at these industries will –
Bakery Business: The North American bakery market is valued at $102.47 in size in 2022. It is growing at a CAGR of 4.45% from the year 2022 to the year 2032.
Cleaning Services: Both commercial and residential cleaning services in the USA are increasing in their market sizes. The growth forecast shows a growth rate at a CAGR of 6.05% ( between 2023 and 2028), leading to a market worth $36.81 billion in size.
Pet Care Industry: Here’s another promising small business market – the pet care industry is growing and is supposed to reach U.S. $430 billion by 2033. The projected growth rate is at a CAGR of 7.4%. North America, especially, dominates the global pet care market, having a 42% market share in 2023, which will only grow.
Lawn Care industry: in 2024, the lawn care market will be worth $58.69 billion. 80% of American homes have a lawn in their house, which only makes the market size sustainable and growing with immense business opportunities for lawn care service providers.
These are examples of few industries. And not all industries look the same. But, overall, the picture only shows promise in the current economic scenario.
4. Vast & Ever-Expanding Consumer Market
The consumer market in the U.S. is huge, and it only grows every year. Yes, there are different influential factors, such as social impacts, economic factors, and cultural factors. But, these only make the U.S. market more interesting and promising to run a small business.
The general trends in the U.S. market also create immense opportunities for small businesses to rapidly grow their revenue and rise to popularity fast.
The U.S. citizens tend to stay loyal to brands they purchase from. Customers would love to stay familiar as long as businesses are providing trust and convenience.
Yes, the competitive market does create a the entry barrier bit steep for new businesses to enter the market and make a name. It would take thoughtful branding strategies to enter a market with ample competition. But it’s not impossible.
The consumer demarcation of the U.S. GDP is constantly evolving as well. Racial diversity is growing, and women are controlling more wealth than ever, creating newer opportunities for different businesses to grow and thrive – especially for women.
Thanks to a steady and healthy source of disposable income, the U.S. citizens are at more comfort to spend the way they want. They have a high GDP per capita. The U.S. has a well-developed economy with proper wage growth. All these only suggest one thing – there’s a strong consumer market and people can spend on their essentials and necessities with open hands.
5. Innovation And Technological Advancements:
The proliferation of technology throughout different business sectors also gives U.S. entrepreneurs a positive nod to start the business of their dreams. The use of tech enabled solutions for manufacturing, operating, and solving problems is taking multiple industries in a different stage altogether.
Thanks to CRM softwares, it’s a lot easier to track the communication between businesses and customers. Many project management softwares are available completely for free. Cloud computing, inventory management tools, and payment processing tools have made multi-channel operations a lot easier.
A.I. & ML are helping businesses understand real-world data and predict trend forecasting. Through generative A.I., it’s easier to keep the business-customer interaction intact and growing. A.I. and ML have revolutionized demand forecasting through data analysis. Thanks to low code development, it’s a lot easier for small businesses to develop new app solutions. Through hyper-automation, it’s also a lot easier to align A.I. and ML to streamline business operations.
Technologies like Edge computing paired with distributed cloud infrastructure have made it a lot easier to manage edge devices. Small businesses can now manage edge devices remotely and from a single control panel.
Whether staying ahead in the competition or getting started, a small business can use its fullest potential to be in the game.
There are plenty of tools to start and complete tools for communication, collaboration, operation management, accounting, marketing, and more. With abundant digital tools available and an abundant amount of digital learning materials, starting or launching a new small business is not as difficult as it was a decade ago.
6. Flexible Lifestyle
Why should you start a business? We should better ask this question to people who want to be their own bosses. 47% of entrepreneurs who start a new business are in love with the idea of being their own boss. They enjoy the autonomy, flexibility, and freedom that comes with being the boss of one’s own business.
Entrepreneurs want to enjoy more family time, and a small business is often their ticket to a flexible life. You are working on your idea, and it’s your project. So, if you are not feeling well, or if you want a break, you need not await the approval of your boss. Because you are your own boss here.
These individuals enjoy respect and admiration for being the first person to take a risk that makes a business stand tall. These pioneers emit a certain type of aura and enjoy the flexibility of working the way they want. Small businesses are for the disrupters and the rule breakers who don’t want to stay bound by any rules.
A small business builds a better sense of identity and allows a business owner to attain the flexibility and freedom they seek in life.
Entrepreneurs can shape a work environment, follow their passion, and build a community while running a business.
Provide Benefits to Employees
Flexible work arrangements offer a variety of benefits for both employees and small businesses. As a small business owner, one can build a flexible work environment where employees feel empowered to work.
As a small business owner, you can provide the same level of work-life balance that you enjoy for your employees. Here’s the type of benefits you can provide to employees as a small business owner –
Good work-life balance: small business owners with a good leadership tactic can provide better work-life balance to their employees.
Health & wellbeing: with flexibility at work, employees can enjoy better mental and physical health.
Productivity: Employees with better physical and mental health feel empowered to work, leading to high productivity in the workplace.
Employee Satisfaction: flexible workplaces empower people to work and also increase the level of satisfaction employees enjoy in the workplace.
7.Run A Small Business For Social Gain
Many entrepreneurs venture into the world of business because they can set up a company for social gain. Even as a small business, you can choose to support non-profit organizations and build a community around your business.
You can also work to support small charities in a community. In fact, many small businesses work to solve particular community, industry, or global problems at large.
Some small business entrepreneurs are also social entrepreneurs. Some of them run a business and sell their services or products only to fund their social causes. If your intentions were even to do a fraction of the same, a small business can support your heart’s desire.
Warby Parker, an eyeglass retailer – donates a pair of glasses to people in need for each pair sold at their store. That’s more than regular charity.
Cotopaxi
Cotopaxi is a business that sells outdoor gear. They use a portion of their revenue generated to fight global poverty.
Bluelend
There’s another company that’s not only running a business but also contributing to keeping the environment safe. This company has been selling plastic-free alternatives like paper towels and cleaning sprays.
LSTN Sound Co.
Here’s an interesting small business that sells wooden headphones and hearing aids to people who are in need. Instead of using materials like plastic, eco-friendly wood is their way of showing concern for the environment.
Social entrepreneurs build businesses for their social gains and for the hunger to do something for the community. If you are one of these individuals, starting a small business might be what you should do.
8. Challenge The Status Quo.
It’s ok to walk a different path than most people. Some business owners start a business not just to run a business but to do something right when others aren’t doing it right. An entrepreneur is a dreamer.
For example, if you have spent years in an industry, then you should have a close and keen eye for how things run. And you may not be happy with how a particular sector isn’t doing something right. Just like every other dreamer, you would want to set things right. That’s when you challenge the status quo and start to do things right for the right reason.
Many entrepreneurs want to start a business just to disrupt the norm and set up on a journey to a new path. If you tend to have a good understanding of the quality of products or services customers want, you can disrupt the market by providing that sense of value through better quality products and services.
Although your intention to be a market disruptor might be out of personal feelings, personal feelings aren’t enough to win a place in the market. It should be done best by centering the initiative around your customers’ expectations.
Here’s something that should help –
Ask yourself questions like “will this idea be helpful to your consumer?” “what mistakes are your industry competitors making?”
9. Earn Significantly More
Small business owners usually make around $83,000 to $126,000, which is comparatively more than the average income of a U.S. citizen. A small business owner’s average salary is around $99,979.
Compared to jobs, the average income of a business owner is higher in the USA ( this is what the data says ). A 2022 data from the national average wage index suggests that people working jobs earn $63,795, on average. Compared to a small business owner’s average salary is $36,184.
Yes, the difference between the average earnings from both a business and a job is significant. The difference can be significantly more or significantly less across industries.
Also, a small business won’t provide the same ROI in Arkansas and Kentucky as it will in New York or Vermont. The location of your small business also decides how much you profit from it and if it’s truly better than doing a job instead.
Since success is what you make of your efforts, a small business owner can turn the tide in their favor and make their small business operation smooth sailing.
10. You’ll Have True Job Security.
Instead of climbing the corporate ladder to earn more, you can build a business which is more substantial than a job.
It doesn’t come with the worry of job security and the stress of climbing the corporate ladder to do well in life. With a job, some life-altering decisions like layoffs, promotions, and industry shifts aren’t under your control.
But, when you start a business, you get to be the decision-maker for something substantial and yourself. In fact, small SMBs and LLCs can provide employment to their family members or relatives. This way, you’ll not only take care of your earning source but also support the employment of your loved ones.
By choosing the right business incorporation model, you can even pass down ownership to the next heir. But that’s not possible with a job. Everyone has to start from scratch when it’s a job someone’s talking about.
Why The USA? The World’s Most Dynamic Entrepreneurial Ecosystem
Now, the question is – why the U.S.?
The first section of this article has already answered this question. The U.S. has a strong ecosystem that supports and nurtures the entrepreneurial mindset. Be it funding or getting advice for a business, opportunities are abundant.
Startups can leverage advanced technology support and low-interest rates for small businesses to get their startup ready and running.
You may already know, that small businesses support employ more than 61.7 million U.S. citizens are employed by a small business which is almost half the American workforce. The small businesses in the USA represent 43.5% of the country’s GDP.
Unfortunately, 50% of small business startups fail within 5 years of opening their doors, and 18% of them fail in the first year of starting. But that shouldn’t be demotivating since there are too many positive factors like funding solutions and advice backed by the government.
The U.S. has the most dynamic economy in the whole world. Since the onset of COVID, the number of new businesses opening in the country has been around 300,000.
Bonus Points
Here are some factors involved in making the U.S. the best place for starting and running a small business –
- The country has set up all the right legal and political reasons for workplaces to emerge and thrive. Their employment laws, taxes, and other regional laws make it easy for small businesses to thrive.
- The U.S. stands as the hub of new professional and educational opportunities, and talented individuals from different parts of the world migrate to the country. So, it’s not impossible to get a diverse and talented workforce working towards a collective dream.
- Intellectual properties are the assets of the new world. The U.S. government enforces laws and regulations to safeguard intellectual property, making it easy for businesses to safeguard their identity and intellectual property.
- The country holds unmatched status in several industries, such as financial services, technology, entertainment, etc.
- Plus, the U.S. can access the global market in any industry, which makes it easier for small businesses to expand their sales.
Final Words
Starting a small business in a market crowded with competitors is challenging. The entry barrier is too high. But, if you are doing it right, there’s room for creativity and doing something out of the ordinary. Such adventures not only help you solve an existing market problem or a gap but also empower the creativity dormant within you. With all the benefits and support provided by the government and a growing community, a small business will help you build an identity for yourself as you work to build one.
So, what are you waiting for? Do share this article if you find it even a little motivating and informational. Thanks for the read.
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You can certainly see your enthusiasm in the work you write. The world hopes for more passionate writers like you who aren’t afraid to say how they believe. Always follow your heart.