01 May

To Reach Small Businesses, Go Vertical

1 Comment
by Anita Campbell
May 1st, 2007

Quick! What are the top five industries in the U.S. with the highest percentage of small businesses (under 20 employees)?

Do you know the answer?

It is: dentists, freelance writers, home appliance repair, chiropractors and real estate agents.

You may not be able to create products and services just for specific industries. But when you want to reach small business owners, one approach is to target the specific industries that have high concentrations of small business owners.

We small business owners tend to fall into certain industries in higher numbers. And just like employees in big companies, we belong to professional organizations. We read trade magazines. We go to industry events.

If you are puzzled about how to reach small business owners, go where we hang out – to the organizations we are part of, the events we attend, and through the publications we read.

This chart that USA Today put together, showing the top 25 industries with the highest concentrations of small businesses, is the kind of data you need:

David vs. Goliath
The 25 sectors ¹ most dominated and least dominated by small firms — companies with fewer than 20 employees. Job sectors and their percentage of small firms:
Rank	Most likely to be a small firm	Fewer than 20 workers	Rank	Least likely to be a small firm	Fewer than 20 workers
1	Dentists	97.7%	266	Engine and turbine makers	53.1%
2	Freelance writers	97.4%	267	Plastic product makers	52.7%
3	Home appliance repair	97.1%	268	Janitorial, other	52.7% corporate support firms
4	Chiropractors and other health providers	97.1%	269	Ore smelters	52.3%
5	Real estate agents	96.9%	270	Tobacco processors	51.7%
6	Home builders	96.9%	271	Metal foundries	50.3%
7	Florists	96.8%	272	Metal forgers and stampers	50.2%
8	Beer, wine, liquor stores	96.5%	273	Power boiler makers	49.5%
9	Jewelry and luggage stores	96.4%	274	Yarn mills	49.1%
10	Fishing	96.4%	275	Chemical makers	47.9%
11	Hair salons	96.3%	276	Plywood makers	47.7%
12	Interior designers	96.3%	277	Department stores	47.5%
13	Rooming houses	96.2%	278	Aluminum makers	47.3%
14	Auto repair	96.0%	279	Metal tube and wire makers	47.1%
15	Dog and other animal breeders	96.0%	280	Cardboard box makers	44.8%
16	Water well drillers	95.9%	281	Railroad car makers	44.3%
17	Agents for celebrities	95.9%	282	Resin and rubber makers	43.8%
18	Insurance agents	95.7%	283	Electric utilities	39.2%
19	Real estate leasing	95.6%	284	Non-oil pipeline firms	30.2%
20	Carpet and floor installers	95.3%	285	Oil pipelines	24.5%
21	Paint and wallpaper contractors	95.2%	286	Specialty hospitals	24.5%
22	Lawyers	95.2%	287	Nursing homes	22.7%
23	Logging	95.1%	288	Paper mills	22.1%
24	Accountants and bookkeepers	95.1%	289	Psychiatric hospitals	9.2%
25	Funeral companies	94.9%	290	General hospitals	4.5%
All sectors average 89.3
1 — Excluding non-profits
Source: USA TODAY analysis of U.S. Small Business Administration data

Also, read Jim Hopkins’ insightful analysis of small businesses in the USA Today article accompanying the above chart.

By the way, you can create your own data analyses. Start at American FactFinder at the U.S. Census website, where you can access tons of data and manipulate it. The site is a bit of a bear to use, so it helps if someone familiar with statistics can do the work for you.

From Around the Small Business Trends Network » Small Business Trends said on May 3rd, 2007 at 1:47 am

[...] To Reach Small Businesses, Go Vertical — (to reach business owners, identify the vertical markets with the highest concentrations of small businesses). [...]

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