small business by the numbers
- profitability is challenging :: small businesses have tighter margins,
higher costs and less access to capital. for example, companies with less than 20 employees spend 45% more per person than larger companies on employment-related compliance.
- failure is frequent :: 34% of new businesses fail within 2 years; 56% within 4 years; 69% within 7 years.
- reasons for failure are limited :: 80% of small business failures are due to lack of ownership experience or lack of capital.
- a little help goes a long way :: 87% of companies graduating from formal incubation programs are still in business after 4 years (almost double the success rate of their non-assisted peers).
Sources :: SBA Office of Advocacy, Sept. 2008
Univ. of Maine School of Economics
American Express