Happy 4th of July!

After turning another page of the calendar in 2020, we will celebrate another major holiday in the middle of a pandemic. While our 4th of July celebrations will likely look different than previous years, there is still much to celebrate and be grateful for. Our small business community has been hit especially hard the past few months, and they need our support more than ever to lift them up as they come back online. It's the perfect time to reflect on our country's remarkable history of entrepreneurship and small business success.

American Entrepreneurship

Hopefully you like history, because to understand the roots of American entrepreneurship, we need to take a look back to the earliest days of our country. Entrepreneurial innovation has been part of our culture even before we were the United States. The original English colonies were businesses, and many of the first colonists came here for economic opportunity.

Entrepreneurship thrived in Colonial America, largely thanks to low taxes and tons of trade opportunities. Many Colonial-era businesses – such as Caswell-Massey and Ames - are still in operation today! Our very first presidential administration pursued policies that encouraged innovation; George Washington understood the power of entrepreneurship. President Washington was a business owner himself. He even founded a successful whiskey startup after leaving office!

If you take a look at any all-time list of the world’s most important entrepreneurs, chances are you’ll see plenty of Americans… from Benjamin Franklin’s creation of some of the most popular inventions of the modern era, to Oprah Winfrey’s journey from abject poverty to multi-billion-dollar media mogul. It should come as no surprise that we’re still consistently ranked one of the best countries in the world for entrepreneurship, based on things like labor force, access to capital, and innovative culture.

Small Businesses and Franchising

Large companies naturally attract more attention, but small businesses have historically been the backbone of the American economy. Even before independence from England, American merchants were some of the most important contributors to local economies. Small businesses remain critical to our economy; they account for a whopping 99.7% of US employers and 48% of US employees!

Modern franchising has its origins in the United States and played a big role in our expansion and development in the 20^th century. The franchising model helped drive the industrial revolution. Most early franchises were in manufacturing-based industries, but today, franchising spans all kinds of industries, from restaurants to senior care. Over 8 million Americans are employed by franchise businesses! You would have a difficult time trying to find a private-sector industry untouched by franchising.   

A Path for All Americans

Diversity is one of our country’s greatest strengths, and this has been true throughout American business history. Entrepreneurship has been a path to prosperity for many Americans barred from the corporate world due to discrimination. For example, Madam C.J. Walker was born to formerly enslaved parents and became one of the most successful American entrepreneurs of her time. Lillian Vernon founded a mail-order catalog company that revolutionized how we spent money, at a time when women were barely even allowed in the workplace.

Entrepreneurship remains an important part of the American dream, especially for people from underrepresented demographics. Today, 42% of American businesses are owned by women and 39% are owned by people of color. First-generation American immigrants are nearly twice as likely to start a company as their native-born peers.

Our diversity among entrepreneurs also includes age. The average successful startup founder is middle-aged, and a 60-year-old startup founder is three times as likely to be successful as a 30-year-old startup founder! George Washington didn’t found his whisky distillery until he was 65. Unfortunately for President Washington, the 401(k) and Rollover for Business Startup (ROBS) were still about 200 years away. But one of the best things about American opportunity is that it’s never too late to get started.

However you’re celebrating Independence Day this weekend, we wish you and your family a safe and fulfilling holiday. We have a lot to be thankful for, even when times are challenging. Happy Fourth of July!