Elected officials wax eloquent about small business owners. And if they rise from rags to
riches, then the stories are all the more inspiring. Star athletes and glamorous entertainers are
talented in ways the average person is not. But small business owners could be any of us; they
are the quintessential every man (and woman). Whether they achieve fame and fortune in
the global marketplace, or remain true to their roots and never get off Main Street, successful
small business owners are beating
the odds. That’s because most
Figure 1.9 Self-Employment Rate, Total Civilian Employment, 2007
small businesses in America fail.72
35.9
Greece
People who were not born in the
26.4
Italy
United States are more likely than
Portugal
24.2
U.S.-born residents to start and
17.7
Spain
17.3
NZ
own businesses. Immigrants are 13
16.8
Ireland
percent of the national population,
14.4
Austria
13.8
Belgium
but 18 percent of small business
13.8
UK
owners.73 Baltimore has one of
12.9
Australia
the highest ratios of foreign-born
12.6
Finland
12.4
Netherlands
to U.S.-born entrepreneurs of any
12.0
Germany
major U.S. city. Foreign-born resi11.5
Switzerland
10.6
Sweden
dents are 9 percent of Baltimore’s
9.3
Canada
population and make up 21 per9.0
France
cent of its entrepreneurs.74 The
8.9
Denmark
8.0
Norway
businesses tend to be small and
7.2
US
are often started out of necessity.
6.1
Luxembourg
“This is how immigrants survive,”
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
says Betty Symington, executive
Source: John Schmitt and Nathan Lane, “An International Comparison of Small Business
director of Baltimore’s Episcopal
Employment,” Center for Economic and Policy Analysis. Authors’ analysis of Organization for
Refugee and Immigrant Coalition.
Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) data.
“You can’t survive on $9 an hour
as a cafeteria worker so a lot of them start businesses on the side.”
As executive director of the Mission Asset Fund, which serves the Latino immigrant community in the Mission District of San Francisco, José Quiñonez works with Latino immigrants who start small businesses with very little money. You couldn’t find better examples of
the kinds of heroes elected officials love to talk about. But Quiñonez doesn’t advise his clients
who want to start a business to look to the Small Business Administration, a U.S. government
agency, for support, mainly because he knows th HY?[??H\??? ???[\? ?[ [K???'\?\??&]X??]?Z[??[?[[ZY?[? 8?'HH ?^\?8?']8?&\?X??] H ?\?? ?\?HH ?X[??\?[?\?? ]X[Y?Y\??? ?X???][?[? ?\?H ?\ ? ? ?X? \?\??Y?[? ??X??YH]?Z[X?B?? [?K??'HH??\??Y[?8?&\? \??X?]?H? ?]???] ]\?H ?X[?\?[?\????\??\??&]?[?? YH ??Y[?H ??\?H ??H ?? ?Y]??[\?\?X^X?H?H? ???[Z[ HY[X?\??[???[?\?]\? ?]?[?YH?\?? [? L ?[? HZ\??[?\? ?X? ??]?\? \?\??\ [??] ?[??? H ?X[[?\? ?\?\?8?'H ?X[] H\?8?'H ?^\?]Zp?[?^?8?' [?H[? \? ?] X][??[??&]???? ? H??\??Y[???[ ??'B?H?Y??\? ??[H?X?[??[?H?]? ?X[?\?[?\??\??Z[?[?? ?\? ]\?\][ ?8?'\??B??[????? ??
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