In honor of Small Business Week, I wanted to take a moment to recognize small businesses and the owners and entrepreneurs that drive them forward. Small businesses make up about 44% of the US economy. Take a moment to look around and be grateful for the dog bakery around the corner, your local coffee shop, or the contractor you can call when something at your home needs to be fixed. What goes unnoticed are the hours the owners put in outside of your 8-5 workday. A small business owner may also spend nights and weekends as a website builder, business developer, CFO, SEO optimizer, blog writer, bookkeeper, and marketer just to name a few. In addition, these business owners put their financial future on the line by personally guaranteeing a start-up loan or lease.
All of this is done while competing against the likes of Amazon and Walmart so that consumers can have the rewarding experience of being recognized when you walk in the door or purchasing unique items or delicacies that you cannot find online or in a big box retailer.
Behind the scenes, you will find that small business is a community of its own. Owners from time to time like to get together for a coffee or a beer and commiserate with like-minded crazy people because their spouses think they are nuts. However, the entrepreneurial spirit is a calling not unlike teaching or nursing. It is a desire to serve people and share their passion with the world. Hopefully, at the end of the day, we can earn a living. If we can create wealth, even better.