Some mourn, while others ask, what took so long? Many predict that rural parts of the country will most feel the impact. Regardless, it seems fairly certain that as the USPS continues to evolve, it will always spark debate and controversy. But a lot of us, no matter how frustrated we can be with USPS “service,” feel more than a twinge of sadness over the thought that perhaps one day, it could be gone forever. 

For now however, the USPS is alive—and hopefully on its way to a more fiscally healthy existence. Yes, you heard it: We’re rooting for the USPS to find its footing and to live on. Because, of the segments of our society who still rely heavily on the USPS, we know of one very large group that definitely feels the effects of every USPS cutback: small businesses. The consolidation that will soon be underway is no exception.

For there is a kind of USPS-small business partnership or symbiosis, each contributing to the other’s business, well-being and continuing viability. The vast majority of small businesses are local and community based, interacting directly with their customers. USPS, despite being part of the federal government, delivers its services through hundreds of small offices in the community—and most importantly, through thousands of individual carriers, each one functioning as greeter, front-line contact and mail expert in neighborhoods across the country. So we’d argue that there’s some compatibility of character and values between the postal service and small businesses.

Or small businesses may be completely web-based, which probably means shipping products to customers. While FedEx and UPS are still too costly for a lot of small businesses, the postal service’s If It Fits, It Ships program gives them an efficient, affordable option.

The postal service has developed other services specifically targeted the needs of small business—marketing tools that many could not afford to do. Direct mail, for example, is most cost-effective on a large scale, as in millions. Most small businesses simply could not mail directly to their customers on the small scale they’d need. 

But with the USPS Every Door Direct Mail program, direct mail becomes an effective marketing alternative for small businesses. They don’t even need to create or buy mailing lists but instead just choose a neighborhood(s) where they want to connect with customers. The USPS will deliver their mailers there. Boom! Simple!

And with one variation of this program, Every Door Direct Mail-Retail, small businesses can mail up to 5,000 pieces of mail per day without having to buy a postage permit—again, a huge plus for smaller-scale marketers. The actual postage is lower, too, allowing small businesses to spend more on design and printing.

All of us could probably make a list of frustrations we’ve had with the USPS. There’s no question that cost, efficiency and service quality need to continually be addressed. But are we really ready to dispense with mail altogether? We don’t think so—and we think small businesses would agree!

Luckily for us, the folks at Leo Burnett Chicago, a major marketing communications agency, are keeping track of the change that continues to unfold all around us. In fact, they developed a forecast of behavioral trends called HumanKind 2012 that explores “…a profound change in the cultural fabric of society and the emergence of a different
kind of Big Life Plan.”

This is not about advertising but instead delves into who we are, and for everyone in business, who our customers are—and are becoming. All of us, regardles of what kind of business we’re in, need this kind of insight to be able to connect with our customers in relevant ways.

In case you missed HumanKind 2012, you can buy the book at Amazon.com. But in the meantime, with all credit to the folks at Leo Burnett, we’ve highlighted six key trends below that brands and marketers—and virtually anyone in business—need to embrace.

Our sense of fairness is in decline, but ‘happiness inequality’ rises.

It’s no surprise that we’re not so happy at present.  But apparently Americans as a population (regardless of social class) were optimistic and happy just a few years go—until the economic downturn. Now we’re unhappier than ever, especially those who are struggling financially. Feelings of inequality and unfairness continue to grow…

Implication: The report stresses that brands (and we would add “businesses”) that are consistently fair will earn customers’ trust and patronage—and will thrive.

The ‘average’ American family is anything but.

Once upon a time, we all aspired to the same things: graduate, get a job, get married, have a family. Not so much anymore. The American family has many different faces and is defined according to our own needs, not our peers.

Implication:  Business and popular media can be slow to catch up. Acknowledging and reflecting the diversity of families will endear you to your customers.

Traditional masculinity is declining; men are evolving.

Our long-held notions of masculinity and men’s roles at home and at work are no longer relevant. Women out-earn their husbands, and the majority of men not only accept this but are also okay with staying home with the kids.

Implication:  As a business, focus on individual identity instead of gender differences. Customers and employees alike will be appreciative.

Healthy is in the eye of the beholder.

HumanKind 2012 describes food as an “affordable luxury,” a way to treat oneself when having to cut back in other ways. We talk a lot about making healthier choices but “walk the walk” much less often. Burgers still trump salads in terms of value and satisfaction for a lot of us. 

Implication:  Even if you’re not in the food industry, try offering customers bite-sized treats of all kinds.

Collective bargaining means survival.

We don’t want or expect to pay full price ever again, as evidenced by the success of daily deal giants Groupon and LivingSocial. We’re collectively demanding better deals and offerings.

Implication: You don’t have to give away the store, literally or figuratively, but can integrate daily deals with customer loyalty programs.

Social/mobile technology: Novel vs. practical.

There will be 20 million new smart phone users this year alone. Some want to use social platforms and mobile in shopping and buying. But they also want these new channels to add real value, not noise.

Implication: Just as with other forms of marketing, make social and mobile a part of intelligent solutions that address real customer needs and challenges.

Persistent concerns tend to be more about things we can’t control—for example, the country’s economic recovery or the roadwork that closes down the street that runs right by your business.

Most of us, though, worry about things we can control, too.  And this is where we can lighten the load on our brains! Wrestling, short-term, with a business challenge is one thing.  But thinking endlessly about your cash flow is another.

It’s important, then, to distinguish among the three types of concerns:

 
(1) Things beyond our control.  Acknowledge them. Ask yourself if there’s anything you can do to mitigate them. Then let them go.

(2) Short-term problem-solving.  Instead of letting yourself drift into worry territory, think constructively, if you can. Sometimes, if you let you go, resolution appears, amazingly. Also, some concerns may go away on their own.

(3) Longer-term worries.  Thoughts like, Can I survive? and Will I ever be able to retire? plague all of us. These and a whole host of others like them are legitimate concerns.  But letting these kinds of thoughts run un-checked can overwhelm and paralyze you. Acknowledge them; then write them down, along with some action steps to address each one.  Put them away, in a desk drawer or box.  Bring them out to revisit from time to time. But otherwise, keep them out of your mind on a day-to-day basis.

So, what are small business owners thinking about most these days? Our thoughts on this are anecdotal; we’d definitely like to hear from small business owners themselves on this!  In the meantime, here’s a broad brush of some of the things small business owners are thinking about:

Economic recovery: Reports continue to mixed; what’s the real prognosis for the future?

Inflation: The Feds especially, talk about the possibility of inflation? Is this happening now—or is it likely?

Energy & fuel: These are two big items that can hit small businesses especially hard. While bigger companies can pass at least some of the extra cost on to customers, small businesses must often absorb.

Regulation: What’s the government doing that’s going to impact me as a small business owner?

Competition: Who/what are my real competition? What should I be doing to stay competitive?

Customers: How are my customers doing? If they’ve scaled back, will this become permanent for them? Or are they likely to gradually return?

Community support:  Is my community doing all it can to support small business? Is the community aware how important its support is to my survival?

Digital / technology: How can I keep up—and take advantage of so much that’s new—from payment technology to social media as a means of staying connected with my customers?

We think this list is only the beginning. Please weigh in: What are small business owners like you thinking about most these days?

That’s how we began to build our confidence and skill, our sense of mastery of the world.  But somewhere along the way, a lot of us forgot those early experiences—and especially, the sense of exhilaration when we overcome obstacles.  Instead, we fear them, try to avoid them or give up altogether.

Obstacles are everywhere, personally and professionally, and if we’re not actively encountering and working through them, we may be missing out on some opportunities for real growth and success.

Who faces more hurdles than small business owners?  Think about it.  Day after day, obstacles present themselves.  How do you usually respond?  Do you procrastinate and kick the proverbial can down the road until you just can’t avoid the situation any longer?  Or do you attack an obstacle with relish and gusto?  If you’re in the first group, the way you think about obstacles may be holding you back.

This isn’t to trivialize or minimize obstacles.  But you can recalibrate your thinking in ways that will help you learn how to face obstacles head-on.  And the payoffs are enormous.

Re-imagine obstacles—and failure. So many of us fear failure and even let it take us down.  We see it as a terrible thing.  Not so, say experts. Failure to do something is learning—and necessary.  So embrace it.

Re-commit. When you’re facing a big obstacle, don’t waiver.  Immediately re-commit yourself to working through it.

Don’t panic or despair. Although this may be your first instinct, don’t let negative emotion overwhelm you.  Let yourself feel it—briefly—then re-group.

Re-examine. Take a day or two, if you can, to take a new look at the obstacle or hurdle that’s in your way.  Is it as formidable as it was when you first encountered it?  Don’t deny the real challenges there, for sure.  But taking a new, clear-headed, analytical look may help you see the obstacle in a whole new light.

Re-evaluate. Closely related to “re-examine,” re-evaluating means looking closely at the qualitative aspects of the obstacle at hand.  Look for the opportunities that may be buried in the hurdle.  Ask yourself, What is this obstacle trying to teach me?

Re-focus and re-adjust, if necessary. If you find you’ve overstated the goal, re-adjust it.  If the strategy you put in place is off-kilter, re-adjust it.  Taking a step back from a particular hurdle is an opportunity for renewed clarity.

Reinforce(ments).  Call a buddy you can bounce ideas off.  Or call on some expert resources if you need to.  Two heads are better than one.  And you can never go wrong with exchanging ideas with people you trust and getting feedback.

Sleep on it. Sometimes all you need is some rest and distance.  Put it away, get a truly good night’s sleep, and get it out again in the morning.  You may be amazed at how different the hurdle looks the next morning.

Trust yourself.  Remember that as a small business owner, you’ve overcome hurdles and obstacles in the past.  Remind yourself that you’re a problem-solver…and that your obstacle-tackling muscles are getting stronger every day.

Savor your successes. Don’t forget to celebrate when you’ve overcome an obstacle.  Savor what you’ve learned, and feel the confidence you’ve gained.  And get ready for the next one…

How are minority-owned businesses doing currently? Are the definitions changing? Are there important differences between this group and other small businesses? We haven’t found answers to all our questions but did find some information:

• Minority-owned businesses were huge factors in the rise of small businesses in the U.S. in the 80s and 90s. In fact, in the early 80s, the growth of minority-owned businesses outpaced that of all American businesses several times over.
• “Minority-owned” were once sub-segmented into African-American, Hispanic, Asian and Native American. All grew significantly during the period mentioned above. But now they may be defined even more precisely, as in “Chinese” or “Arab.”
• Earlier, high growth in minority-owned businesses was due to positive economic trends, advances in education and access to capital.

But what about now? Most agree that minority entrepreneurs—including women entrepreneurs of all races—still face challenges that their white male counterparts don’t. There’s still racism, sadly, not just in communities but across industries and corporations. And affirmative action and other special programs, once considered a boost to minority-owned businesses, may not be after all.

And yet, minority business owners have persisted. For some, launching a business or owning one, has been the reason (or part of it) for coming to the U.S. in the first place. American Demographics cites immigrants from Asian countries as chief among them.  This is also the group (made up of various sub-segments) that has enjoyed the most entrepreneurial success.

Hispanic and African-American-owned businesses have also emerged and grown. Native Americans, on the other hand, are least likely to take an entrepreneurial route, due to often being located in more isolated areas and to the lack of role models.

Community support, acceptance, higher levels of education and business experience, better networking, urban revitalization, access to capital and special programs have all helped minority-owned businesses. But it’s the “special programs” catch-all that seems to cause the most grumbling, consternation and scrutiny. Many assume that minority-owned businesses are getting a free lunch from the U.S. government—and argue, Why should they?

Maybe the better question is Do they, really?

Despite the fact that the SBA lists a number of resources for minority-owned businesses on its website, www.sba.gov, an article that appeared on American Express’s Open Form (www.openforum.com) in February of this year paints a vastly different picture. In fact, it was titled, “There’s No Free Lunch for Minority Owned Businesses.” 

This article argues that programs for minority-owned businesses that give entrepreneurs a leg up are more myth than substance. It goes on to describe two successful but distinctly different such businesses that nonetheless have one big thing in common: They earned it. No special favors.

Author Tom Harnish says that minority-owned businesses apply for the same loan and government programs and get the same tax benefits as other small businesses. However, they do have some advantage in contracting with the government.  Specifically:

• No special loans. While loan programs specifically for minority-owned businesses do exist, they are mostly the same programs available to anybody. Even loan programs targeted (and named for) to minorities, veterans, women and disabled persons tend to be only slight variations on ‘standard’ programs.
• No special tax benefits. The taxes minorities pay are the same that anyone pays. However, there are tax credit programs for those who invest in minority businesses and low-income communities.
• No special programs. Although the U.S. Department of Commerce maintains the Minority Business Agency, it offers essentially the same services as Small Business Development Centers offer all small businesses.
• Selling to the government does, however, favor minority-owned businesses. In 1968, the SBA established the 8(a) program to encourage federal purchases from socially or economically disadvantaged businesses. Being a woman, by the way, doesn’t qualify you unless you also meet other criteria.

What’s the point of all this? It’s not to argue whether minority-owned businesses should have advantages that others don’t. We’ll never resolve that debate. Rather, it is to argue the importance of minority-owned businesses in our business community, our society and our culture:

• They are playing a big role in our economic recovery.
• They often provide products and services to those who might not otherwise get them.
• They are an important, interwoven part of the rich, textured, colorful fabric that is the U.S.

As a small business owner or marketing director, you decide, one day, to take stock.  If what you find, as is common, is a string of tactics “in search of a strategy,” don’t despair.  You’re not alone—it’s just too easy to place that one-column ad in the community newspaper or try out a daily deal offering. 

But what’s missing is the thinking behind the tactics.  After all, your tactics could be good ones, but you’ll never know if you’ve been able to maximize their strength, because they aren’t linked to objectives that clearly describe what you want to accomplish or woven together in a strategic way (how you’re going to accomplish the objectives).  When your tactics come together in this way, not only should they be getting you more business, but they’ll be building your brand at the same time.

By the way, experts say this is the #1 mistake small companies make: Going directly to execution, as in creating a website or developing a brochure, before having the strategic underpinnings.  For many, this is the fun stuff.

But once you understand the fundamentals, thinking can be part of the fun stuff, too.  And thinking is where the playing field becomes more level.  It doesn’t take a big budget or a staff of 40 to think through a marketing strategy.  And as your choices multiply, where to spend precious promotional dollars becomes even more important.

So, where to begin?  At the beginning…always.

• Objectives: What do you want to accomplish?
  This is a business goal. It should be achievable, especially based on the dollars you have to achieve it.  And it must be specific. “Growth” is not a business goal: “grow by 10%” is.
• Target: Who are you trying to reach? And… who are they?
  Big companies spend millions of dollars gathering, slicing and dicing data about their customers and prospects.  You’ll do this step a little less scientifically, but it’s no less important.  Observe your customers, if you can.  Talk to them, if you’re in a position to do so.  About anything and everything.  From the insight you gain, you can extract who your “best bets” are in terms of customers.  Then create a “profile”or bio of who this “perfect” customer is—everything about them that you can think of.  Use this as your target; it can be fine-tuned or expanded as you go.
• Identity: Who are you?
  This is the profile or bio of your business.  It even helps to think of it as a person: What is its backstory?  How did it get here?  What does it stand for?  What is it selling?  And, when it interacts with customers, how do they experience its personality and values?  Don’t confuse your brand, or the total customer experience, with a catchy tag line or your logo.
• Plan: How are we going to get this done?
  This is how you’re going to connect who they (your customers) are with who you are in engaging ways.  If your ideal customer is a heavy smartphone user, then maybe you’re looking at reaching them via mobile.  If they tend to already be in your neighborhood, perhaps your approach can be partially location-based.
• Execution
  Now you’re ready to create your messaging and execute your tactics, based on your plan.

A few more thoughts:

• We haven’t meant to oversimplify here, but instead to get you thinking along the lines of each of the fundamental areas you need to integrate into your marketing process.
• If you think you need to be doing something but don’t know how to do it, keep it in your plan. Hire some help, find a student who may be building a portfolio, even barter with other small businesses for those services.
• Hire experts when you can.  It may look easy to design a logo, but it really isn’t.  Make sure everything that represents your business is done professionally.
• Have fun.  Put some time into thinking through each of the steps above.  Bring your employees into the process, order some pizza and brainstorm away!

Whether your company is relatively young or you’ve been in business for awhile, you and most other small businesses need to be operating from a common assumption. That is, that at some eventual point in time, in order to keep growing, you’ll need to access cash from an outside source. The time to figure out your approach for getting financing is now, long before you need it. 

Start by interviewing a small cross-section of those sources, both traditional (e.g., banks) and non-traditional (e.g., angel investors or companies that provide merchant cash advances). You may be surprised at the degree of variance in financing options, rates and terms, etc. Some will be suited to your business, others won’t. 

It’s true that you won’t know some of the details until you have an actual need for financing, it’s still possible—and preferable—to gather some basic financing information ahead of time. This way, you’ll be well on the road to securing financing when you actually need it.

Set up a handful of “informational” meetings. Make a list ahead of time of questions to ask the folks you’ll be meeting with. This will help you understand the differences among the companies you’ll potentially be doing business with, what they offer, and how they relate to your business.  Here are a few must-ask questions you’ll want to include on your own list:

1.  What types of financing do you offer to small businesses?  Do you finance all types of businesses, or do you specialize in niches?
You need to understand the differences among the organizations and the financing they offer. Ask about the basics, like the differences among “loans” versus “factoring” or “cash advances.” Understand how each company works with businesses and what kinds of businesses make up the majority of its client list.

2.  What are the risks in this type of financing – and how can you help me minimize them?
An organization that may be providing financing for your business should be willing to outline, in great detail, the risks you’ll be undertaking—and there are risks in all types of financing.  Some types of risk are better suited to certain kinds of businesses. But there are also ways to mitigate risk, as in how your repayment plan in structured.

3.  How does this type of financing relate to (and impact) my credit report?
Your credit report and credit scores play critical roles in the financing process in a couple of different ways. Traditional lenders will require a certain credit score in order to consider lending to you. Once you have the loan, it will be reported on your credit reports.  Non-traditional lenders (this can vary, so be sure to check it out) may provide financing based on information about your business that doesn’t include your credit score.  Plus some non-traditional sources of financing  do not report it on your credit report. Companies offering merchant cash advances (also known as business cash advances) are a good example.

4.  Do you provide expertise beyond the financing itself?
It’s great to be able to get the cash when you need it. But it may be even better to be working with someone that can also offer some practical advice on improving your cash flow.  Some small business owners may want this additional depth of expertise than others.  But it’s probably a good idea to factor it into your analysis of your financing options.

5.  How well do you understand my industry? How have you helped other businesses similar to mine? Can I speak with any of them?
If you’re a two-location restaurant, you probably don’t want to seek financing from a source whose clients are mostly small manufacturers.  Without breaking confidences,  your potential financing sources can provide “thumbnail sketches” of other client situations similar to yours. They can also put you in touch with clients whose businesses and challenges are parallel to yours—with the clients’ permission, of course.

As a small business owner, how many times have you hit the proverbial wall?  Been running on empty?  Been convinced that you will never come up with another idea or solve another problem?

We’ve all been there.  Exhausted.  Losing focus.  Torn in too many directions.  And against this backdrop, wrestling with challenges, big and small, everyday and longer-term.

Let’s face it: Being able to come up with some fresh insight, some new thinking, is the life blood of everybody’s business, regardless of the business you’re in.  So how do you stop spinning your wheels and break the stale old cycle, with so many other things competing for your attention?

There are two books out now, both highly touted, that can help you learn how to get your juices flowing and ideas popping up all over the place.  Both are great reads and well worth your time.  And by the way, don’t get thrown off by the word,”creativity.”  It can be as simple as being able to see old things in new ways—and everybody benefits from being able to do it.

The Book of Doing: Everyday Activities to Unlock Your Creativity and Joy

Ad Age Publisher Allison Arden realized that she was most creative when doing things with her kids and wanted to get back to the feeling she (and all of us) had as children, when we came up with all kinds of things out of sheer imagination.  By asking herself lots of questions and embarking on an amazing exploration, she came up with new ways to do old things, described in “The Book of Doing: Everyday Activities to Unlock Your Creativity and Joy,” which was just published in April.

There are 94 (very do-able) activities in all, along with Arden’s “laws of doing” to help people overcome obstacles that might be holding them back.  For starters, if your team is struggling to solve a problem—and who isn’t?—start by having them do something totally different.  In Arden’s case, rating various kinds of pizza according to a scorecard made everyone slow down, think about the ingredients individually and overall, become more discerning.  Nothing earth shattering, but certainly a different approach to eating pizza!  And the new approaches carry over into other activites.

Our favorite example is when Arden mailed herself a pumpkin—without packaging!  (This makes us want to find a big pineapple and head to the post office!)  This taught her that something she thought was impossible really wasn’t.  Not only did it open up a whole new arena of possibilities, it also inspired some pretty creative thinking from other people.

It all may sound slightly crazy (Oh, those advertising people!), but it’s clear you have to suspend your sense of “how we’ve always done it” in order to stretch the boundaries of your thinking and turn them upside down.  Arden not only unlocked the sense of “spontaneity and freedom” she was seeking originally but has also had positive effects on her business.  She and her team have been able to rethink things like product packaging and testing, with some amazing results.

Imagine: How Creavity Works

How many times have you seen something like Post-it Notes and said, “DUH! I wish I’d thought of that!” If you have (and we know you have), read on… 

Journalist Jonah Lehrer takes a very different path in his new book, “Imagine: How Creativity Works.”  It is also a really interesting read, well worth your time.  Here you won’t find creativity exercises or activities.  Instead, Lehrer has written a fascinating tale that combines the latest in neurological research with age-old mysteries about how and why creativity happens.

If this sounds a little on the dry side, it isn’t at all.  Lehrer is an engaging storyteller, who will hold your interest throughout.  He includes lots of fascinating case studies, like the innovative culture at Pixar and even Bob Dylan’s songwriting habits, to illustrate the science he discusses.  And while there are no actual “exercises” as we said before, you’ll likely feel that sense of recognition as you read, as so much of this information makes good, practical sense.  Especially valuable is learning how some of the things that we do—or are surrounded by—everyday actually stimulate creativity… in all of us, not just in so-called “creative” people.  Surprisingly, these include traveling, daydreaming and even the color blue.

So, put on your blue shirt and make a run to the post office with your watermelon in tow.  And while you’re out, pick up these two books.  Happy reading!

There’s no financial prerequisite for starting a small business. In fact, as many of us would admit, the financial side of managing the business is not our strong suit.  At least, not in the beginning.

But like exercising a muscle, paying more attention to your numbers on a regular basis can actually strengthen your “financial IQ.” Not to mention help you avoid all kinds of (unavoidable) trouble—and take advantage of some real opportunities you could be missing.

Peri Pakroo, author of The Women’s Small Business Start-Up Kit, wrote awhile back on entrepreneur.com that small business financial shortcomings can fall into two broad categories: (1) Full-on neglecting to track income and expenses, losing receipts, etc.; or (2) Doing a reasonable job of tracking, but then not using this information to establish where the business is at any given point in time.  (We’re not sure whether you have to be in one category or the other; maybe there are hybrids?!)

Overcome mental hurdles               
Pakroo says that loathing dealing with the numbers (as “tons”) of successful business owners do, doesn’t have to be your undoing. We so identify.  Instead of giving in to fear and anxiety, take advantage of the terrific (and affordable) choices in bookkeeping software that will help you track and give you reports. Painless.  But if you really can’t bring yourself to do it, have an employee or contractor do it. Pakroo cautions, though, that you still need to know what’s going on.  The good news here – you can use this process as a real learning opportunity with a built-in coach.

Break it down so it’s not so intimidating
Once you establish a process—and Pakroo insists it can be simple!—you can handle virtually all your bookkeeping with the help of the software.  In fact, the author says that these tasks can be grouped into three broad groups:

• Keep and organize your income and expense records.
  This means everything! It will pay to become a little obsessive about making sure there’s a record for every single thing—and that you can easily get your hands on it. Develop your own system for these, whether folders or using a scanner. What’s important is that it works for you.
• Enter the information into the software.
  Pick a regular time (for many, this is weekly), and put it on your schedule. Then sit down and enter the information into the software. Yes, really – it really is that simple.
• Generate reports.
  If you’re doing steps one and two on a regular basis, you’ll be able to easily generate reports that can help you in all kinds of ways, like projecting your cash flow…knowing how to price more competitively…even having a possible impact on how much you pay in taxes.

With regular reports, you’ll begin to see trends and patterns that can show you where you need to take action and help guide your decisions. And you’ll have a scorecard that can tell you how the business is doing. Once you realize the advantage of having this kind of information at your fingertips, you’ll wonder how you ever got along without it!

First, a little optimism. In a recently-released report that had been commissioned by the U.S. Small Business
Administration’s Office of Advocacy, it was reported that while small businesses’ share of the gross domestic product (GDP) has fallen, small businesses continue to be an invaluable resource for the U.S. as “incubators for innovation and employment growth.” 

And as far as specific industries, the SBA report cited five that are considered best for small business.

Two big ones: Small businesses related to health services and education services.  Even more generally,
anything in the service industry fared well.  In fact, for of the five most successful industries for small business
fall into this category.

Consider this: Gross revenues of small health businesses rose a whopping 67.2 % over the last decade to more
than $550 billion, according to this report.  While health-related businesses clearly trump everything else,
education services has grown 80% since 2000, to revenues of $67.3 billion annually.

Others in the top five include:

• Professional and technical services – up 39%
• Administrative services – up 37.7%
• Utilities – up 29.2%

These five all beat the 28% average for small business growth between 2000 and 2010.

And here’s some more interesting information to chew on.

According to G. Scott Thomas, writing on www.bizjournals.com in mid-April, On Numbers (for that website) identified the best markets in the country’s four regions for small businesses (defined as private sector, less than 100 employees) to grow and prosper:

• East (21 markets)                 Pittsburgh
• South (37 markets)             Austin
• Midwest (19 markets)        Minneapolis-St. Paul
• West (23 markets)               Salt Lake City

Collapsing all four regions, the big winner was Austin, which also finished first On Numbers’ rankings in 2010 and 2011.  This is based on a six-part formula that includes factors such as five-year population growth and concentration of small businesses per 1,000 businesses.

Of the runnersup in the national rankings, three are in the Southern region—Raleigh, Oklahoma City and Houston—with Salt Lake City rounding out the top five.