June 17-21 is National Small Business Week, an observance first marked 50 years ago by President John F. Kennedy.

According to the U.S. Small Business Administration – the agency led by Maine resident Karen Mills – half of the American workforce either owns or is employed by one of the country’s 28 million small businesses. Two out of three net new private-sector jobs are created by small businesses.

In Maine, 97 percent of businesses meet the threshold for being a small business – fewer than 500 employees. In fact, 95 percent of Maine businesses have 50 or fewer employees, according to the state Department of Labor.

Small business owners today face a world that would be in many ways unrecognizable to their 1963 counterparts, with challenges and opportunities unheard of five decades ago. Falling squarely onto the “challenges” ledger is the slow-to-recover economy. A 2011 study by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York found that small firms were hit harder by job declines than large firms in the recent recession, mostly due to “economic uncertainty and poor sales.”

A survey released this week by Capitol One found that 67 percent of small businesses do not plan to do any hiring in the next six months, a slight drop from the end of 2012. There is some optimism, however, as the survey says that 35 percent of small businesses saw an increase in sales in the last six months, and 45 percent expect their financial position to improve in the next six months.

Looking at the larger picture, there is cause for hope, as well. Technology in many ways allows small businesses to do things only their large competitors could do before. Organization and collaboration, all enhanced by technology, can help small companies keep up with large ones while staying nimble and responsive to consumer and market demands.

In addition, the hallmarks of small business – personal service and connection to the community – are now more in demand by customers, following a stretch when the perceived convenience and price advantages of larger companies ruled the market. In the latest twist, social media allow the little guys to update and connect on the fly. Big-box stores, for instance, may offer low prices and a big parking lot, but their corporate-approved Twitter feeds don’t know the neighborhood like a local small business.

Coinciding with the rise of the new technology in the last decade is a renewed interest in downtown redevelopment. While National Small Business Week recognizes all small businesses, from manufacturers to professional service providers, retail, particularly in a downtown, provides a good example of how small business impacts a community, and how customer choices impact small business.

Sam’s Place, a fixture in Saco’s historic downtown since the 1960s, announced recently that it would be closing, mainly due to financial pressures made worse by the popularity of larger home improvement stores.

Now, consumers have the right to shop where they please, but they should know that their choices have consequences. Shoppers shouldn’t frequent mall areas for price or convenience and then wonder what is happening to their downtown.

“You can’t treat Main Street like a museum and only come downtown when there’s an event like the Sidewalk Art Festival or fireworks,” said Saco Mayor Mark Johnston, himself a downtown business owner. “Residents need to shop in downtown or it will be gone.”

That applies to all markets. Dollars spent at a business are votes for that business, and it is clear that a vote for small business is a vote for Maine.

– Ben Bragdon, managing editor

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