When looking at the statistics and trends in the world of small business, it can be easy to get discouraged with the process of opening or running one. Once you know the facts behind these things, however, you can make changes to your company and be more likely to succeed.

Most Businesses are Small

Depending on the industry, businesses are considered small if they generate less than seven million dollars in yearly revenue and have fewer than five hundred employees. This puts a large percentage, over ninety percent, of companies in the United States in the category of small. Almost half of the workforce in the US are employed by these businesses.

Most Do Not Survive Longer Than 10 Years

One of the first things you learn about opening a small business is that over half will close within the first five years and only a third will last ten years or longer. This can be due to many different reasons from struggling to bring in the customers to the health and safety of the owners. Some of these companies may even close because they have been taken over by larger ones, which ends their life as a separate legal entity. The best thing you can do to survive the learning curve of business is to have a solid business plan from the beginning and revise it as you move forward. This includes seeking help from professionals such as industry mentors, legal experts and accountants.

Most Do Not Utilize Digital Marketing Effectively

Many small companies with social media pages, websites and digital ad campaigns are not using them effectively to grow or sustain their customer base. Researching search engine optimization techniques and tools, making use of blogging and videos and even how you engage with your customers on social media can help improve the effectiveness of digital marketing. Many of these things can be researched and implemented for free if you can carve out the time to get them done. You can also outsource to a digital marketing firm to make your online footprint more effective with many of these companies offering package deals.

Most of the trends in small business can be discouraging, especially when you look at the statistics on how many stay open and thrive. You can take steps, however, to ensure that your company is in that thirty percent who are still going strong far into the future. These steps include consulting with professionals, making better use of digital marketing and keeping your chin up.