Small-business owners are instrumental to the U.S. economy, as the updated U.S. Small Business Profile demonstrates. According to the profile, small businesses added 1.9 million net jobs during the last year studied. "Small businesses are America's job-creating dynamo," said Dr. Chad Moutray, chief economist for the Office of Advocacy.  "Clearly policymakers need to consider their impact on small business when they are making policy decisions."

Other interesting findings include:

• Small businesses employed 50.9 percent of the nation's non-farm private workforce in 2004.
• In 2006, the U.S. had an estimated 26.8 million small businesses, of which 6.1 million were employer firms.
• Women-owned firms totaled 6.5 million and generated $940.8 billion in revenues in 2002.