10/23/2006
Half of U.S. Businesses Are Home-Based
by Timothy Lee, Associate Extension Specialist, UALR Lead Center
Almost half (49 percent) of the nation’s businesses are operated from home, and more than 6-in-10 owners used their own money to start the business, according to new U.S. Census Bureau reports on characteristics of businesses and business owners.
Home-based businesses
- Self-employed individuals who have no paid employees operate three-fourths of U.S. businesses.
- Top industries for home-based businesses were: professional, scientific and technical services, construction, and retail trade and other services (such as personal services, and repair and maintenance).
Most businesses are “self-made”.
- People using their own money or family assets for business startups included 77 percent for businesses with paid employees and 59 percent for businesses with no paid employees.
- Top industries for these “self-made” businesses were: accommodation and food services (79 percent), manufacturing (78 percent), wholesale trade (74 percent) and retail trade (72 percent).
- Nearly 3-in-10 (28 percent) of all entrepreneurs started or acquired their business with no capital at all.
- Nearly 1-in-10 U.S. businesses -- both employer firms and nonemployer firms -- were started by owners who used personal or business credit cards to finance the startup or acquisition.
Business owners are highly educated, 3-in-10 are over 55 and 14 percent are veterans.
- In 2002, 64 percent of business owners had at least some college education at the time they started or acquired ownership in their business, 23 percent had a bachelor’s degree and 17 percent had a graduate degree. Just over 1-in-4 owners had a high school education or less.
- Thirty-one percent of owners were more than 55 years of age, 29 percent were between 45 and 54, and 24 percent were between 35 and 44. Only 2 percent of owners were less than 25 years of age.
- Fourteen percent of business owners in 2002 were veterans; 73 percent of those operated with no paid employees. Nearly 7 percent of veteran business owners were disabled as a result of injury incurred or aggravated during active military service.
Source: 2002 Survey of Business Owners (SBO):
Characteristics of Businesses: 2002 [PDF]
http://www.census.gov/prod/ec02/sb0200cscb.pdf
Characteristics of Business Owners: 2002 [PDF].
http://www.census.gov/prod/ec02/sb0200cscbo.pdf
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