Why Small Businesses Are Good for Local Economies小企业为何有利于地方经济

When we check business news each day， it’s usually big companies that dominate the headlines. We see layoffs by Tesla， a contract won by Lockheed Martin， a company acquired by General Motors， or a new innovation from General Electric. It’s true that large businesses are seeing their market share increase in a wide range of industries in recent years. However， despite the relative absence of small businesses from the headlines， they drive a considerable portion of the American economy.

每天浏览商业新闻时，通常都是大企业的相关报道占据着各大头条。我们在新闻上可看到特斯拉裁员、洛克希德·马丁赢下大合同、通用汽车收购某公司或者通用电气发布一项创新产品。的确，近年来，在多个不同行业，大公司的市场份额都有所增长。然而，即便相对而言小公司出现在头条新闻中的次数不多，但他们依然在美国经济中占据着不可忽视的一部分。

Small businesses’ economic impact

小企业对经济的影响

Small businesses are an important economic engine for both local communities and the national economy.

小企业是驱动本地社区和国家经济发展的重要引擎。

A widely cited 2019 report from the U.S. Small Business Administration found that small businesses generated 44% of all economic activity in the country. That same year， small businesses created two-thirds of all jobs in the U.S. In a post-pandemic world， small businesses have been the backbone of economic recovery and job growth.

美国小企业管理局2019年发布的一份报告被广泛引用，该报告显示，整个美国44%的经济活动来自小企业。同年，小企业为美国创造了2/3的就业岗位。在后疫情时代，小企业成为了经济复苏和就业增长的重要支柱。

“Small， locally owned businesses and startups tend to generate higher incomes for people in a community than big， nonlocal firms， which can actually depress local economies，” said Stephan Goetz， professor of agricultural and regional economics at Penn State and director of the Northeast Regional Center for Rural Development， in a statement published alongside the research.

与报告共同发表的还有一份声明，该声明由宾夕法尼亚州立大学农业和区域经济学教授、东北地区农业发展中心主任斯蒂芬·戈茨撰写，他提到：“相比于大型非本地企业来说，小型的本地企业和初创公司通常会给当地人提供更高的收入——前者反而往往会抑制本地经济发展。”

Goetz said his research shows that small businesses directly benefit local economies—much more so than large businesses. This is because big box and large corporations have internal systems for services such as accounting， legal， supply and maintenance that are not necessarily based within the county or state. Small businesses， on the other hand， have to outsource these functions and usually do so to professionals within their local or regional communities—professionals who are likely to spend that money in the same community.

戈茨说，他的研究成果显示，与大企业相比，小企业为本地经济带来的直接好处要大得多。原因在于，大型连锁零售商和大企业有内部职能系统，比如会计部、法务部、采购部和维修部等，而这些业务通常并不设在本县或本州。小企业则不得不将这些职能外包给当地或本区域的专业人士，而这些专业人士通常会在本地进行消费。

How small businesses benefit local economies

小企业如何造福本地经济

Small business has long been seen as a boon to local economies， but why is that？ Small businesses help boost a community’s broader economy in several concrete ways that bigger businesses cannot. Here are three ways small businesses contribute to the economy.

一直以来，人们都认为小企业造福了当地经济，这是为什么呢？因为小企业会通过多种实打实的方式推动本地整体经济发展，而大公司却无法做到。以下列举小企业为经济做出的三方面贡献。

Job creation

创造就业岗位

The first way small businesses impact the economy is through job creation. While this might seem obvious， it is incredibly important. According to the SBA1， small businesses created a net 12.9 million new jobs in the last 25 years， which accounts for roughly 66% of all jobs created in that span. In the same period， large businesses only added a net 6.7 million jobs， the SBA reports.

小企业影响经济的第一种方式是创造就业岗位。虽然看似显而易见，但这一点无比重要。据美国小企业管理局数据，过去的25年中，小企业净增1290万个工作岗位，大约占同期新就业岗位总数的66%。与此同时，大公司仅净增670万个工作岗位。

Small business job creation was pivotal in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic as well. According to the SBA， during the first two quarters of 2020， at the start of the pandemic， 9.1 million jobs were lost. In the following four quarters， through Q2 of 2021， small businesses created 5.5 million jobs， a 60% recovery from the pandemic-era decline.

小企业所创造的就业岗位在新冠疫情暴发后起到了至关重要的经济支撑作用。根据美国小企业管理局数据，2020年上半年，疫情暴发之初，全美国共计消失了910万个工作岗位。在接下来的一年里，直到2021年第二季度，小企业创造了550万个就业岗位，相较疫情期间的下滑，回升了60%。

Innovation

推动企业创新

Small businesses and startups provide more than just jobs for community members. More local small businesses means new ways of thinking and fresh perspectives， almost like an entrepreneur mindset. For large businesses， trying fundamentally new approaches can be akin to turning a battleship， while it is relatively simple for small businesses to reinvent themselves.

小企业和初创公司为当地社区的贡献不仅仅是创造了工作岗位。更多本地小企业参与经济活动，会带来全新的思维模式和商业视角，几近企业家思维。对大公司来说，尝试全新的商业模式难如巨舰掉头，而小企业进行变革就容易得多。

Small businesses are generally more nimble than large businesses， with tighter-knit teams and simple communication channels. This enables them to quickly pivot and change their operations in major ways with minimal investment. As a result， early-stage entrepreneurs can act as laboratories of innovation， testing new ways of doing things and seeing if any of them pay off. And when they do， it can put the local community on the map.

小企业通常比大公司更为灵活变通，团队更为紧凑，内部沟通渠道也更为简便。因而，小企业能以最低的投入实现快速战略转型和运营方式调整。因此，初创阶段的企业就像创新实验室，不断尝试做事的新方法，从中找到获利途径。当小企业发现盈利之道时，就会推动当地社区蓬勃发展。