Small Business Trends

David St. Lawrence at Ripples writes about the growing importance of micro-businesses. He has an entire series of posts on micro-businesses that you really should check out.

Micro-businesses are a segment of the small business market. St. Lawrence defines them as businesses that do less than US$1 Million in sales per year. Many of them are home-based businesses.

According to St. Lawrence, more people are starting micro-businesses for the excitement and challenge. They want to be their own bosses and are seeking refuge from the frustrations of the Corporate world.

He says the numbers of micro-businesses will continue to grow:

“…I believe that micro-businesses will continue to grow in number and importance because being self-employed allows people to balance work and family in a way that is usually impossible as a salaried employee with a full-time job.

I agree with David’s comment, and I also think there are a number of interrelated factors driving the growth in very small businesses. One such factor in the United States is demographics: the aging Baby Boom population. A significant portion of the population now has the experience, business knowledge, confidence, and financial reserves to opt out of the Corporate world and start their own businesses.