A promising way to jumpstart the U.S. economy is by helping more entrepreneurs establish their own businesses. The 30.2 million U.S. small businesses represent 99.9 percent of all businesses in this country. They employ nearly half (47.5 percent) of America’s total workforce.¹

If you need further proof that small businesses can provide an economic boost, consider that in July 2019 alone, small-business loan applications grew to a post-recession record of more than 27% at big banks ($10 billion-plus in assets) and more than 50 percent at small banks. As small businesses grow, they use borrowed capital to hire more workers, expand to new locations and increase inventory.²

Small-Business Planning

Starting or expanding a business takes know-how, capital and a strategic understanding of your market. Because small-business entrepreneurship can be risky, it helps to first get your financial ducks in a row to help ensure that any business declines don’t affect your personal finances. Give us a call if you’d like some help structuring your assets to help protect them from business losses. Our goal is that they continue to grow throughout your career as a business owner.

Using strategic tactics can help keep capital flowing. Such options could include outsourcing accounts receivable collections to a third party in order to get paid sooner, applying for a microloan from a U.S. Small Business Administration partner financial institution to help cover a one-time overhead expense or keeping technology expenses low by shopping for free or low-cost software options that can scale with business needs.³

Another way to help reduce costs while supporting local economies is by starting or relocating businesses to a post-industrial town. Many of these places have seen declines as factories and plants have closed throughout the past decade. Not only can business owners find cheaper property and plentiful labor sources, the business may prove to be an important boost for the local economy.⁴

New Networking Options

For those who are consultants or own a small business, the career networking site LinkedIn can help simplify marketing. The website recently announced a new feature for freelancers and small-business owners to showcase their services on their LinkedIn profile, allowing members to search specifically for services based on keywords. For now, the new feature is available only to freelancers and small-business leaders who have a U.S. premium business subscription, but it’s scheduled to be rolled out to nonsubscribers this fall.⁵

Other time-saving features on LinkedIn include the ability to use it as an informational website for your business instead of maintaining a separate site. Also, at any time you can print a PDF of your profile, which converts into a professional-looking resume.⁶

Content prepared by Kara Stefan Communications.

¹ U.S. Small Business Administration. 2018. “2018 Small Business Profile.” https://www.sba.gov/sites/default/files/advocacy/2018-Small-Business-Profiles-US.pdf. Accessed Aug. 23, 2019.

² Rohit Arora. Forbes. Aug. 7, 2019. “Small Business Loan Approvals at Banks Hit Record Highs.” https://www.forbes.com/sites/rohitarora/2019/08/07/small-business-loan-approvals-at-banks-hit-record-highs/. Accessed Aug. 12, 2019.

³ Serenity Gibbons. Forbes. Aug. 8, 2019. “How Small Businesses Can Grow On A Tight Budget.” https://www.forbes.com/sites/serenitygibbons/2019/08/08/how-small-businesses-can-grow-on-a-tight-budget/. Accessed Aug. 12, 2019.

⁴ Adi Gaskell. Forbes. Aug. 12, 2019. “Can Entrepreneurship Breathe New Life Into Post-Industrial Towns?” https://www.forbes.com/sites/adigaskell/2019/08/12/can-entrepreneurship-breathe-new-life-into-post-industrial-towns/. Accessed Aug. 12, 2019.

⁵ Peter Economy. Inc. July 23, 2019. “If You’re Freelance or a Small-Business Owner, LinkedIn Just Revealed a New Feature That Changes Everything.” https://www.inc.com/peter-economy/if-youre-freelance-or-a-small-business-owner-linkedin-just-revealed-a-new-feature-that-changes-everything.html?cid=sf01001. Accessed Aug. 12, 2019.

⁶ Paige Doepke. Jan. 14, 2019. “How to Download a Resume from LinkedIn.” https://www.jobscan.co/blog/how-to-download-linkedin-resume/. Accessed Aug. 23, 2019.

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