THE IMPORTANCE OF SMALL BUSINESS

• Small business


  Companies with anywhere from 1 to 500 employees
• Small businesses make up 99.7% of all US employer firms
• Businesses with less than 20 workers make up 89.6% of all US employer firms
• Small businesses account for 54% of all US sales
• Since the 1970s, small business has provided 55% of all jobs and 66% of all net new jobs
• Since 1990, while big business has eliminated 4 million jobs, small business has added 8 million jobs
• Small business


  • Vital part of any community
  • Viable alternative to big business
• Business incubators


  Provide critical help to small businesses at their most vulnerable time, reducing the risk of failure
• 87% of firms that graduate from business incubators are still in business after five years
• For every $1 of public spending at an incubator, $30 is generated in local tax revenue
• Innovation Connector


  Business incubator serving small businesses in Muncie, Indiana and surrounding Delaware County since 2002
• The Innovation Connector has enabled small businesses to consistently produce impressive amounts of revenue as well as maintain liveable employee salaries
• The Big Pitch contest

  Business pitching competition that helps the top small business creators in the area jumpstart their businesses
• The creation of the Coding Connector in 2017 continues to redefine what it means to be a business incubator
• As long as small businesses continue to be an integral part of the Muncie community, there will always be a place where they can start, grow and mature - a place where they can thrive, like the Innovation Connector