Published: February 01, 2007 12:47 pm         

Entrepreneurship continues to grow in state

The next time you are with a group a people, look around. Probably three of every four persons want to own their own business. Across the country, 18 million people each year take action toward the American dream, owning their own business. These entrepreneurs, innovators and small businesses are key players in the country’s economy. And Oklahoma is no different

The micro, those employing less than 10 employees, and home-based business owners make up more than 95 percent of all Oklahoma businesses.

Only about 1 percent of businesses in this state employ 20 or more people. With that number in mind it’s not surprising the role that the smallest of the small businesses play in Oklahoma’s economy. Communities that are interested in diversifying the economy need to teach entrepreneurship and encourage the development of this basic sector. The potential entrepreneur needs help with understanding what’s involved in starting a business, identifying the opportunities that are available and teaching the process of going from a business idea to opening the business.

Building a good business is a priority for everyone involved. Fast growing businesses, in terms of sales and employees, are often referred to as the “gazelles.” These are the businesses that appear to take off overnight. Some well-known gazelles include Google, EBay and Microsoft. Yet for every gazelle, there are hundreds of businesses that, for a variety of reasons, grow more slowly. These businesses are called mice. Although not as attention-grabbing as the others or employing the hundreds of people they do, it is this micro world that forms the base of our economy.

It’s very difficult to determine in the early stages of a business which ones are gazelles and which ones are mice. Obviously we want all businesses to be gazelles, but looking at the statistics, only a small percentage of businesses reach that point. Keep in mind that more than 95 percent of today’s businesses have fewer than 20 employees. There is a large market in the ‘small business’ arena that must be filled.

The small business arena can definitely be a risky venture. As noted, 18 million people take steps toward entrepreneurship every year. It is not unlikely that more than 60 of those businesses will still be around five years later.

New employer businesses in Oklahoma were estimated at 8,609 in 2005. This is 7.1 percent fewer than the previous year. Business bankruptcies increased by more than 43 percent that same year. These statistics make it clear why communities must embrace the small business market and educate those future entrepreneurs on what it takes to successfully run a business.

Oklahoma has approximately 324,000 small businesses. Women own about 75,000 businesses and generated $929 million in 2002. In addition, more than 4,500 businesses are Asian owned and generated $458 million in receipts. Businesses owned by Hispanics totaled 5,442 and contributed more than $1 billion to Oklahoma’s economy.

These figures are very impressive and it’s important to continue the trend of developing successful small businesses. The economy of our state depends on it.