Why Jim Cramer Thinks Small Business Owners Can Do More Hiring Than Firing In 2022 The CNBC host says he's bullish on entrepreneurs because he believes in their creative ability to innovate.

When I look at small, private businesses," says Jim Cramer, "I love to hear expansion plans. It is so exciting to me to hear expansion plans." He believes the future will be full of expansion.

Cramer sees business from all sides — as the host of CNBC's Mad Money, where he covers the public market, as well as a cofounder of TheStreet.com (and onetime co-owner of a restaurant in Brooklyn, which he sold his stake in this year). When he looks at the current environment for entrepreneurs, he sees many hurdles — but also many opportunities to get creative and utilize a raft of new services from big companies that see the benefit of helping small businesses grow. Here, he explains why entrepreneurs have reason to be so optimistic.

You mostly cover public companies, but you say that the real engine of economic growth is small business. Why is that?