Business Essentials, 12/e

Summary of Learning Objectives

Objective 3-1

1. Define small business, discuss its importance to the U.S. economy, and explain popular areas of small business.

A small business is independently owned and managed and has relatively little influence in its market. Most U.S. businesses are small businesses and employ fewer than 20 people. Small businesses are vitally important to the economy because of (1) job creation, (2) innovation, and (3) contributions to big business. The most common types of small businesses are firms engaged in (1) services, (2) retailing, and (3) construction. Services comprise the largest sector, in part because most service businesses require relatively little capital to start. In contrast, there are relatively fewer ...