So I was reading yesterday....

I saw some interesting stats in Time magazine (March 19th, 2010 issue) yesterday. The paper version - not the online version. These stats were in a sidebar and don't appear in the online version of the article.

"50.2% of all US workers are employed by small businesses"

Small businesses employ just over half of all American workers. This is a testament to how much influence small business have to our economy

"595,600 Small businesses closed in 2008"

To me this is an astonoshing number - over half a million small businesses closed down.

"43,546 Small Business Bankruptcies in 2008"

This number, while large, is somehow easier for me to fathom. Considering the state of the economy that year and the collective credit freeze that ensued you can see the impacts to small business. However when it comes to action by our government it appears the immediate focus was on bailouts for big business and banks.

Small businesses while critical to our economy are left to fend for themselves. We don't ask for bailouts, we figure out a way to keep going - or die trying.

It's a gutsy thing to own and run your own business. It's demanding and practically insane to some extent. However these are the stories I'd like to share on this blog. The inspirational stories of the people who have the passion and will to run their own business. If you have a story like this then I would love to hear from you.

Here's a link to the Time Magazine story.