Small Business is a Big Deal!
Small businesses play a vital role in the economy of the United States. During the 1998-2004 time period, small businesses produced 50 percent of private nonfarm GDP. Gross domestic product (GDP) is the market value of goods and services generated by labor and property located in the United States. It is worth noting that while the share of GDP attributable to small business has remained relatively stable over the years.
The adoption of the North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) has allowed researchers to examine industries in greater detail.
The current estimates cover 16 nonfarm industry sectors. Of these sectors, two have small business shares greater than 80 percent: construction and other services. Five sectors have small business shares greater than 50 percent: real estate and leasing, professional and technical services, health and social services, arts and entertainment, and accommodation and food services. One industry, holding companies, is about equally split between large and small businesses.
Two industries have shares that are nearly 50 percent: trade (wholesale and retail) and administrative and waste management services. Other sectors' small business shares are less than 50 percent but bear consideration in Gentilly: transportation and warehousing, information, finance and insurance, and education services.
It's Tuesday Afternoon in Gentilly
Home Offices, kitchen tables, backyard studios, garage bands and ebay businesses. There is nothing else like these grass roots efforts to sow the seeds of wealth-building for a community like Gentilly.
But the dreams of every would-be entrepreneur beg for the resources and mentorship that only a local organization of like-minded individuals can nurture and bring to fruition.
Like the gardens and groves that once flowered in Gentilly, the small business community has been washed away and clear cut, leaving the community to start from scratch on a barren field.
Either you remember Tuesday afternoon, after Katrina or you read about it. Water flowing through neighborhoods, residents still shouting from rooftops, the roots of great trees releasing their grip to the earth as their branches cease to reach for the sky. This is the present state of small business of Gentilly in the financial backwash of the current economic malaise.
So let's do something about it...
The GCIA is providing these pages of business resources to help fill the void of business voices needed to provide support for the community.
There is no doubt that our efforts to generate this sector of local participation have been weak, but the growth of leadership in this area is nature: individuals, families and friends who through their desires and skills have been struggling to initiate their version of the American dream as a primary or secondary, part-time business serving the local community.