Economically speaking, the whole country has been all over the place these past few years. One thing is clear though: small businesses are the backbone of the economy. They make up 99.9% of all businesses in the US, accounting for 60.6 million workers.
That equates to 47% of the workforce, showing that the entrepreneurial “grindset” is real, and that many have channeled that mentality into following their dreams on their terms.
The economy is also roaring, according to the most recent info from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. The private sector added over nine million jobs in the fourth quarter of 2021, with 1,843,000 of them coming from businesses that opened during that time. Given that small businesses make up the majority of employers in the US, it’s safe to infer that many have gotten over their first hurdles—founding a company, then generating enough business to keep the lights on—and are now flourishing.
For those who prefer to work alone, or whose dreams require some extra cash flow, side hustles are becoming increasingly common. Nonemployer firms—companies that don’t employ people, but connect independent contractors with gigs (think assigning riders to drivers, or linking people who need groceries to people that can deliver them)—house more workers than any other sector of the economy.
Exporting is another industry dominated by upstarts, with 97.5% of the firms sending goods outside of the US being small businesses.
In 2020, world events upended employment situations for many, but as of summer 2022, the unemployment rate has returned to pre-pandemic levels.
Self-starters have been blazing their own career paths with increasing frequency as well: applications for new businesses rose 43% from 2018 to 2022, bringing the median income for self-employed workers to $51,816 a year.
Smaller businesses don’t mean a smaller workload though. Employees of smaller companies often wear multiple hats: they are founders or engineers that also process payroll, in addition to working as designers and marketers too. To juggle these responsibilities, many operators are turning to Canva, a visual communication platform empowering them to cut through the complexities of graphic design. Canva houses hundreds of thousands of template kits that small businesses can use to create impactful logos, company fliers, creative marketing, and much, much more.
Not only does Canva understand the importance of small businesses to the economy, but also their struggles in finding collaborative solutions. This summer, Canva is teaming up with multidisciplinary artist, Brittany Bosco, founder of Slug Global creative agency, to help a yet-to-be-revealed small business upgrade its brand aesthetic. Keep an eye out for part two of this story, where we’ll reveal the business and talk to its founders to learn how they plan to work with Bosco and Canva to unlock their creativity, sharpen their look, and propel their business forward.
Sources: United States Small Business Profile, 2020; U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics; United States Census Bureau, Business Formation Statistics; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.