Miami's Bazaar: The Importance of Small Business

Once every year Miami holds an event in the neighborhood of Opa Locka called the Opa Locka Bazaar which allows small businesses to display their products in front of potential customers. This event is important because from time to time these small operations need assistance in gaining more clientele. The government in Miami understand this, which is why recently the mayor of Miami, Francis Suarez, won the 2019 Partner America Small Business Award. In his acceptance speech he said, " They (small businesses) are the backbone of this community. As a government we have to make it easier for them to be successful. We have to get out of their way."

This attitude towards small businesses is important because in Miami there are over 82,000 small businesses that employ a little over 53 percent of the city's workforce. Even smaller than small businesses are microbusinessess, which is defined by having fewer than 10 employees, and this sector makes up 81.3 percent of businesses in Miami. Unlike most of America, small businesses actually have a bigger impact on the community than large corporations. This is why it is necessary to understand how a small business is defined and the national importance of this community.

According to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) a small business is determined by the amount of employees and the annual sales receipt. The amount of employees that classifies a small business is dependent upon the industry. For example the merchant wholesalers with a maximum of 100 employees is a small business, drilling companies with 500 employees is a small business and manufacturers with 1,000 employees or less is also considered a small business.

The annual revenue also determines the legitimacy of a business as small. Companies with average annual sales receipts between $750,000 and $5,500,000 fit into the category of a small business. However there are some industries such as janitorial services, security and patrol providers, staffing companies and others that gross more than the aforementioned range and the SBA still considers them as a small business.

Small businesses are the engine to the U.S. economy because of the workforce it generates. America is home to more than 28 million small businesses that employs over 57 million workers. When you combine small businesses owners and employees that is an overall community of nearly 85 million people, who rely on the success of small businesses.

In the private sector workforce,  small businesses create the majority of jobs. Between 1993 and 2013, U.S. small businesses accounted for almost two-thirds of the net new jobs, nearly 11.8 million new career opportunities. Unlike big businesses who typically replace retiring employees, small businesses are usually expanding in American communities. Without successful small businesses in American communities, the economy would turn on itself and there would be catastrophic consequences.