Hiatt, M. S., Quinet, G., & Ariail, D. L. (2015). Opportunities and challenges of small business entrepreneurship: A conversation with Daniel L. Eberly, RLA. Journal of Applied Management and Entrepreneurship, 20(3), July 2015. DOI 10.9774/GLEAF.3709.2015.ju.00009.

Department

Management and Entrepreneurship

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

7-1-2015

Abstract

College graduates may see their dream job as being employed by a large businessone with more than 500 employees. This career path is sometimes assumed as the best way for a college educated person to become wealthy and lead a happy life. While this route to success may be the right one for many, a small business alternative should also be considered. Many college graduates seeking employment fail to realize that small business is big business. According to the Small Business Administration (SBA), businesses with 500 or fewer employees account for 63% of new jobs and 46% of the U.S. private non-farm GDP. As reported by the SBA, U.S. Census Bureau data for 2011 indicated that there were 5.68 million employer firms in the United States. Firms with fewer than 500 workers accounted for 99.7 percent of those businesses, and businesses with less than 20 workers made up 89.8 percent. So, college graduates needing employment, which has recently been somewhat hard to find, should not just focus on getting a job with a large firmthere are a lot more of the small ones.

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