Let's play a game for a moment. Pretend that tomorrow, all
the small businesses in the United States have disappeared.
This isn't a fun game, because if that scenario somehow
happened, it would be the equivalent of the entire nation being hit
by an economic nuclear bomb. Excluding government workers, roughly
half the nation's employment force, not to mention a ton of
entrepreneurs, would be unemployed. And good luck finding work in
the near future; annually, 60 to 80 percent of new jobs are created
by small businesses.
In our hypothetical scenario, few new industries would surface;
approximately 14 times more patents per employee are produced at
small businesses than at large patenting firms.
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And just try getting a break at a soup kitchen-small businesses
contribute millions of dollars each year to their communities.
According to a recent survey by the Princeton Survey Research
Associates International, a research firm that specializes in
social and policy work, 91 percent of businesses with four to 99
employees support local charities and groups.
Individually, many small businesses don't appear to have
much clout, but together, they are the engine and soul of the
nation's economy and emotional well-being. So in honor of
National Small Business Week (May 17 to 21), we're paying
tribute to three small enterprises that epitomize the most
significant elements of entrepreneurs' awesome power: the
ability to innovate, to create jobs and to give back to the
community.
These entrepreneurs are more than a symbol of the power of small
business; they're the reflection we see when we look in the
mirror.
Where the Jobs Are
None of the five entrepreneurs at Platinum Select
Staffing is running for president. That should make both George
W. Bush and John Kerry breathe a sigh of relief. After all,
Platinum Select would have quite a job-creation platform-and job
creation is in the news an awful lot these days, with companies
outsourcing talent to countries overseas, unemployment remaining
steady, and hiring at low levels.
Small businesses employ
39%
of high-tech workers (such as scientists, engineers and computer
workers).
Source: SBA
The Dallas firm, with projected 2004 revenues of $23 million, is
a staffing company-sending everyone from nurses to
anesthesiologists to work at hospitals and other medical facilities
around the country. "In this market, a lot of companies are
more [apt] to cut benefits and perks than to provide them.
That's a direction we've really tried not to go in, because
we do value the employees," says Stephanie Martinez, vice
president and chief marketing officer. "When the market turns
[and jobs are easier to find], that's how we're going to
keep our edge." Martinez adds that in the future, Platinum
Select will expand into staffing professional positions, clerical
jobs and the IT sector.
Of course, as CEO Patrick Aunkst points out, the hospitals are
creating the jobs; Platinum Select is simply guiding the right
people to the source. But the firm is aiding in job creation
directly as well as indirectly-after all, the better a partner
Platinum Select is to the medical community, the more jobs it
creates within its own walls. In July 2001, Platinum Select had
only five employees: Aunkst, 37; Kristi Bomar, 30, CFO; Martinez,
30; Bob Quigley, 28, COO and vice president; and Lyle Seedig, 28,
chief administrative officer. Now they have 22 people working for
them, and another 130 staffed in hospitals. By 2011, Aunkst plans
to have a sales staff 192 strong and approximately 3,000 employees
working at facilities around the country.
But it's not just Platinum Select-every entrepreneur can
feel good about what they're doing for the economy, according
to Gerry Murak, author of the recent business-improvement book
Straight Line Into the Turn (Cameo Publishers) and a
consultant with 30 years of experience, specializing in turning
troubled businesses into thriving ones. "By its very nature,
entrepreneurship is all about job creation," says Murak.
"As soon as entrepreneurs decide to go into business for
themselves, they've created a job."
Murak also notes that a lot of entrepreneurs are indirectly
creating jobs simply by giving their business to other companies.
"But because the job creation isn't in huge numbers, it
doesn't make the press. Even if you hire 100 folks in a couple
of months, it's generally not newsworthy and won't hit the
press's radar screen," he laments, adding that politicians
rarely chase after entrepreneurs because of the small numbers.
But there's no denying entrepreneurs do influence the job
market, something Aunkst says he hasn't given much thought.
"We take [it] for granted," he says. "We're
contributing to society almost without noticing."
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