CIAO DATE: 10/05

Opening Opportunities, Building Ownership
Fulfilling the Promise of Microenterprise in the United States

Abstract

The notion that a person can turn a dream into a small business by applying healthy doses of ingenuity, elbow grease and grit has resonated with Americans from the earliest days of this nation. Indeed, there is something so intrinsically appealing about that scenario that more than 22 million Americans are small busniess owners today—including some 20 million who operate "micro"—or very small—enterprises.

Yet, while the vision of business ownership has deep roots in this country, the microenterprise field, which supports the smallest businesses, is relatively young. Emerging here about two decades ago, it was born first through the efforts of women's organizations that sought to help women use business ownership to improve their economic situation. Over time, microenterpirse programs—which today number more than 500 nationwide—have expanded their focus to provide business training, technical assistance and small loans to such traditionally underserved populations as low-income individuals, racial and ethnic minorities, welfare recipients, refugess, and people with disabilities.

Now as the microenterprise field reaches the 20-year mark, it seems appropriate to examine its current state—and both note its accomplishments and identify the major challeneges that lie ahead. This is particularly important as a set of forces in our nation's economy create opportunities and pressures for small-scale business ownership. Key among those forces are: the declining number of good-paying, middle-class jobs; increased outsourcing and use of temporary workers; the aging of the population; the growing need to balance work and family roles; growth in immigration; and declines in many rural communities.

Full Text (PDF, 140 pages, 1.22 MB)