Released Nov. 27, 2007
STILLWATER, Okla.--Small business dynamics are being analyzed by the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Office of Advocacy, which is generating a deeper understanding of small businesses.
The study, Small Business Growth: Searching for Stylized Facts, is focused on understanding the life-cycle of firms overall and by industry.
Glenn Muske, Oklahoma State University Cooperative Extension Service interim associate dean, assistant director, family and consumer sciences, said there has been a need to understand the life-cycle of firms and this study touches on areas such as the growth, decline and survival of firms.
“Overall findings of the study show growing single establishment small firms are normally a constant percentage of industries and the economy,” Muske said. “It also shows the percent of growing firms tend to be greater than that of decliners over time.”
The study also shows no major relationship exists among fast growing industries and the number of fast growing firms within those industries; and industries with many growing firms tend to have several decliners.
Small businesses make an important contribution to the U.S. economy, and according to the Office of Advocacy of the U.S. Small Business Administration, they are a driving force for Oklahoma’s economy.
“In Oklahoma during 2004, 97.4 percent of all employer businesses represented small business owners. These businesses included women, minorities and home-based individuals,” said Muske. “An additional 200,000 businesses are operated by self-employed individuals who do not hire any additional help.”
The Office of Advocacy funded research and data that shows small businesses create more than half of the private non-farm gross domestic product and create 60 percent to 80 percent of net new jobs. In Oklahoma this represented more than $12 billion in 2003 and 11,000 new jobs in 2002.
Data shows that in Oklahoma, women-owned businesses increased by 11 percent to 75,000 in 2002 and represented 36.3 percent of self-employed persons in the state. Revenues of $9.3 billion were generated by women-owned businesses. In 2002, 35,000 businesses were minority-owned.
“Small businesses are a great asset to Oklahoma’s economy,” he said. “The jobs they provide give us economic growth—these entrepreneurs are diligent and creative, and the numbers show it.”
Muske said the OCES is able to help entrepreneurs and small business owners by providing educational materials and workshops. For more information contact your local County Extension educator.
The Office of Advocacy studies the role and status of small businesses in the economy and represents independently the views of small business to federal agencies, Congress and the president. For more information visit: http://www.sba.gov/advo.
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http://www2.dasnr.okstate.edu/Members/katie.reim-40okstate.edu/small-business-dynamics-analyzed
Contact: Katie L. Reim, (405) 744-6792 or katie.reim@okstate.edu
