Did you know that even if you're a sole proprietor, you're not alone in the business world? Okay, so you already knew you've got me here for ya *grin* but you've also got millions of other small businesses wandering around in the fog of the world economy with you.
I know that some days it seems like you're tackling issues and questions that no one else could surely have come up against, but I bet there's someone out there who has "been there, done that". Soon we'll touch on choosing a mentor for your efforts, but for now let's just discuss some stats about small businesses.
According to the Office of Advocacy, a "small business" is an "independent business having 500 or fewer employees". Woowee, that makes a lot of us! 24.7 million, according to their stats. Almost 18 million of those don't even have employees, but let's assume they have independent contractors floating around out there somewhere. In 2002, an estimated 6.5 million businesses were women-owned; 4.1 million were owned by "minorities" such as Hispanic and African Americans. Again, I bet we have a good amount of cross-over between minority and female status. Looks like a growing number of military veterans are heading into self-employment as well, compared to nonveterans.
That makes an awful lot of folks you can network with and learn from. Someone, somewhere, is sure to share your beliefs, ethics, and background and have an education to offer you. It also means a lot of competition, even if you are in what you consider to be a niche market. All the more reason to plan things out and prepare for everything you can think of and get to know those who have gone before.
*stats courtesy of the SBA.gov website*
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