Buying and shopping local is a widely supported trend not only in our city of Lafayette, but across the State of Louisiana. This trend helps to support the longevity of our small businesses on the consumer side of the business, but how can these companies ensure longevity from within the business?
There are 424,475 small businesses in Louisiana. Of those firms, 18.5% have 1-499 employees; 81.5% do not have employees. As of 2012, 16% of all small business firms in Louisiana had 1-19 employees. In 2010, 6,904 small businesses were opened in Louisiana, and 67.1 percent survived through 2012. And in 2013, 7,610 businesses were opened, and 78.0 percent survived through 2014. Only one-third of family-owned businesses survive into the second generation. About 10 to 15 percent of those make it to a third generation and poor succession is often the problem.
This year, the U.S. Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy released its annual Small Business Profile report. This report includes important information about small business employment and industry composition, as well as business owner demographics.