Strike A Blow For Independence!

July is Independent Business Month! Here’s a great way to strike a blow for Independents…

The Middle Class in America is not what it once was. The share of adults living in Middle Class households fell from 61% in 1971 to 50% in 2021. Our buying power has plummeted; if you were making $50K in 1980 then you need to be making between $184K and 201K just to be staying even (depending on which inflation calculator you use). A staggering 50 trillion dollars have been vacuumed from the Middle Class and transferred up since 1975.

But the economy is not like the weather; it’s not something unpredictable we just have to learn to put up with. It responds, over time, to the pressure and preferences of the people living in it. We recently learned that July is Independent Business Month, and amid the flags and fireworks we can think of no better way to strike a blow for independence than to support the many small independent businesses near you. Your money is a vote, and you can vote for the health and prosperity of the independent businesses of your local friends and family.

The decision to patronize small families instead of big gray boxes is critical, and we think everyone should be on board, but it’s a hard decision to stand by over the long term. Before we give you hundreds of reasons WHY you should (and believe us, we’ll show you) we’ll give you one way to support independents that’s easy, pays you back, and is easy to stick to… move your money to a local bank or credit union.

Move your money

Do you like your big, corporate bank? They like you! According to Reuters, “Profits for the U.S. banking sector surged 79.5% to $64.2 billion in the first quarter of 2024”. Chase had income of $13.4B, Wells Fargo had $4.6B, and Citi had a $3.4B gain. All that money goes into the pockets of bank investors as profit.

Extortionate profit not a deal breaker? What about sustained criminality? Our favorite example is Wells Fraudo, which routinely lands before regulators and pays millions in penalties. Fortunately, none of the people working there were involved in any way with the behavior, so no one goes to jail. Whew!

If you’re tired of dealing with corporate banks, maybe you’d like to pay less for less fraudulent service. Your local credit unions or community banks are eager to open an account for you. You should let them! Your money has the same FDIC protections as commercial banks. Credit unions are overseen by boards of directors, not stockholders. Their profit doesn’t go to shareholders but is returned to the bank and to you in the form of lower interest rates. When you’re talking with the loan officer or teller you’re usually dealing with a member-owners of the bank, and can expect better, more personal service. There are lots of reasons, but this may be one of the biggest… once you’ve made the move it stays made; you don’t have to keep thinking about it with every purchase you make.

Better price, better service, drastically less criminality… maybe YOU should consider moving your money. Here are two resources to get you started, and there are more in the Digging Deeper section below.

How To Pull Your Money Out Of A Big Bank (It’s Not That Hard, I Just Did It), Eillie Anzilotti on FastCompany.com, Aug 2017

THIS! Is what we did- Move your Money worksheet

Why support Independents?

It’s more than just a feel good thing to do. Strong LOCAL economies provide tangible benefits to the communities we live in. We knew they were good, but not exactly HOW good. Here are rafts of fascinating stats that build the case for a people-and-community-centered economy.

5 Reasons to Shop, Eat and Live Local (LocalShops1.com)

Preserve Character

Imagine how boring it would be if you looked around and all you saw were Big Box stores? Local shops offer a unique look, and hand-picked merch tailored for our market and our particular needs and interests.

Help Charities, Schools

Studies show that on average, locally owned businesses give three times as much as corporate chains to local charities, local schools, and other local programs.

Keep Money Local

Of every dollar spent at a locally owned business, about 70 cents stays local. Of every dollar spent at a national corporation, less than 40 cents stays local.

Cut Down Unemployment

A Big Box store comes in with a splash and lots of jobs, but they’re often low wage. Worse yet, the long-term impact of the loss of small businesses hurts the community and the employment rate.

Ensure Quality & Fair Prices

It’s all about healthy competition. Having thousands of small businesses is the best way to ensure innovation and low prices over the long-term.

120+ Small Business Statistics that Every Business Owner Should Know from ShortLister.com

(This is just a smattering… click the link for the entire article)

99.9% of all businesses in the U.S. are small businesses.
From 1995 to 2020, small companies in the U.S. generated 62% of new jobs.
A catch-all definition for a small business in the U.S. is one with fewer than 500 employees.
From freelancers to brick-and-mortar companies, food services, or auto repair shops, there are 32.5 million small firms in the U.S.
There are about 213 million small and medium enterprises (SMEs) globally. (Statista, 2021)
Small businesses account for 90% of all companies in the world. (World Bank, 2022)
There are 32.5 million small companies in the U.S. (SBA, 2021)
81% are companies with no employees, in contrast with 19% which have paid workers. (SBA, 2021)
Globally, SMEs create seven out of ten jobs. (World Bank, 2022)
46.8% of all American employees work in small companies. That is 61.2 million people. (SBA, 2021)
Small firms created 1.6 million new jobs in the U.S. (SBA, 2020)
Globally, 26% of SMEs had to close between January and May 2020. (Global State of Small Business Report, 2020)
In the U.S., 20% of minority-led enterprises were closed compared to 13% of other SMEs. (Global State of Small Business, 2021)
Since July 2021, small companies have reported an 11% increase in employment. (Global State of Small Business, 2022)
47% of American small companies have open job positions, and 26% will increase the number of employees. (Statista, 2022)
30.4% of founders invested $1,000 to $10,000, whereas 21.7% invested less than $1,000. (Salesforce, 2021)
41% of women owners invested less than $10,000, and 13.1% didn’t use any funding. (SBA, 2022)
75% of entrepreneurs pull funds from their savings accounts to start the company. Only 19% rely on bank loans. (SBA, 2022)
40% or 65 million firms have an unmet financial need of $5.2 trillion each year. (World Bank, 2022)
49% of owners state they are constantly concerned about the company’s finances. (Capital One Business, 2022)
33% are worried about cash flow, 27% about inflation, and 26% about taxes. (Capital One Business, 2022)
Small businesses account for 43.5% of the US gross domestic product. (SBA, 2023)
66% of SMBs are currently profitable. (Guidant Financial, 2023)
Most owners spent $250K-$500K (27.3%) and $50K-$175K (26.2%) to start their businesses. 16.3% spent $500K-$1M, 14.2% spent $175K-$250K, 12.3% spent more than $1M, and only 3.7% opened their businesses with less than $50K. (Guidant Financial, 2023)
The top industries for small companies are retail (18%), food and restaurant (12%), health, beauty, and fitness services (10%), construction and contracting (8%), and residential and commercial services (7%). (Guidant Financial, 2023)
35% of small businesses are new franchises, 33% are bought independent companies, 21% are new independent businesses, and 11% are bought existing franchises. (Guidant Financial, 2023)
The average annual salary among small business owners in the U.S. is $62,083. (ZipRecruiter, 2022)
Small business statistics show that 75% of American entrepreneurs are somewhat happy (36%) or very happy. (39%). (Guidant Financial, 2022)
45.45% Boomers and 46.46% Gen Zs are the two largest age groups among small business founders in the U.S. (Guidant Financial, 2022)
The percentage of small businesses in America owned by minorities is 18.3. (SBA, 2021)
American entrepreneurs are primarily White or Caucasian (84.7%), and only 4% are Black or African-American, Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin, and 4% are Asian or Asian-American. (Guidant Financial, 2022)
There are 23.4% women owners compared to 77.5% men in the U.S. (Guidant Financial, 2022)
Owners believe that the three critical entrepreneurial characteristics are creativity (57%), critical thinking (33%), and good communication (32%). (Salesforce, 2021)
25% of small business owners were females, compared to 75% of males. (Guidant Financial, 2023)
Gen Xers own most small companies (47.2%), followed by Boomers (39.6%), Millennials (12.9%), and older generations (0.3%). (Guidant Financial, 2023)
42% of SMB owners are Republican compared to 19% of Democrats and 7% of Libertarians. The rest, 32%, are unaffiliated. (Guidant Financial, 2023)
The primary motivators for owners to open a small business are preparedness to be their own boss (28%), dissatisfaction with corporate America (23%), and desire to pursue their passion (13%). (Guidant Financial, 2023)
The average annual salary for a small business owner in the US is $108,240. (ZipRecruiter, 2023)
14% of small businesses plan to spend more on technology in 2022. (SWZD, 2022)
58% of SMEs increased their technology investments to improve business agility and productivity. (Salesforce, 2021)
Since 1998, the number of small businesses has dramatically increased. With about 20 million companies then, now there are over 32 million companies in the U.S. (SBA, 2021)
While the number of employer businesses remains steady, non-employer ones grew from 15.4 million in 1997 to 26.5 million. (SBA, 2021)
Small businesses are getting back on track after the pandemic. Compared to January 2020, currently, they offer 38.6% more jobs. (Opportunity Insights, 2022)
Globally, 32% more small companies started operating in 2020. (MasterCard, 2021)
The five countries with the highest growth of new small firms are the United Kingdom (101%), the United States (86%), Australia (73%), Germany (62%), and Canada (58%). (MasterCard, 2021)
In 2020, approximately 1.07 million small companies opened for the first time. (SBA, 2023)
Yearly, small companies generate $6 trillion of annual economic output. (U.S. Chamber, 2019)
The average value SMEs add to the economy in the E.U. is 56% or 3.5 trillion euros. (Statista, 2021)
As of January 2022, small companies’ revenue increased by 6.9%. (Opportunity Insights, 2022)
54% of small organizations expect their revenues to change in 2023. (SWZD, 2023)
The retail industry has the most considerable revenue increase of 51%. On the other hand, professional services deal with a 26.5% loss. (Opportunity Insights, 2022)
According to small business statistics, 65.3% of U.S. businesses are profitable. (Guidant Financial, 2022)
77.3% of businesses that came out of the pandemic are more technology-based. (Salesforce, 2021)
45% plan to invest in analytics software to help them serve more customers. (Forbes, 2021)
61.8% offer current customer experience, like curbside pickup, instant communications, etc. (Salesforce, 2021)
39.7% are planning to invest in marketing efforts. (Guidant Financial, 2022)
36% will invest in social media, 54% in website, and 35% in SEO. (The Manifest, 2019)
3 in 4 businesses want to advance their employees’ skills to provide a better customer experience. (Forbes, 2021)
59.9% will continue making headway with remote employees. (Salesforce, 2021)
41% of small companies are planning to expand or remodel their business. (Guidant Financial, 2022)
26% of small businesses plan to increase their staff in 2023, 18% will expand or remodel their business