There are an estimated 15 to 17 million small businesses operating in America today. Small businesses are the backbone of our communities and are seen by many as the embodiment of the spirit of entrepreneurship.  Entrepreneurs are credited with creating the vast majority of new jobs and employing the majority of  the nation’s workers. 

Small businesses have always played important roles in  nation’s  economic evolution. Before the late 1800’s, small businesses were the norm. Thousands of small firms handled the production and distribution of goods and services in the  country’s economy. Only after the middle of the nineteenth century did big businesses emerge in fields where new technologies permitted economies of scale in the production and/or distribution of goods. Still, small businesses have remained vital to the nation’s economic development, and even more important as a component of American culture. Even as our century embraced what many Americans viewed as the superior efficiency and productivity of big businesses, Americans continued to revere small business owners for their self-reliance and independence. 

Small businesses have always been the primary way new immigrants coming to America have climbed the economic ladder and achieved the American dream.   Many minorities today in urban, rural and suburban communities have seized the small business pathway as a road to economic independence.

This resource section on Small Business Development provides basic information  - including the pros and the cons of small business ownership – basic start up information - government assistance programs on the Federal and State levels – grassroots programs provided by NCRC members - private sector assistance programs – franchising basics - banking connections assistance –  available small business resources and the latest small business news and information.   CIN editors are continuing to build and add to the section as events, programs and news impact small businesses and their owners.