Thumbtack, a career site that pairs small business professionals with customers in need of services, recently released statistics from their annual Small Business Friendliness Survey. This year, they took a look at Black-owned businesses and the cities they thrive in. Jon Lieber, Thumbtack’s Chief Economist, summed up their findings after receiving responses from 18,000 small business owners nationwide. Out of 18K, approximately 1,663 business owners labeled themselves as Black or African-American. Lieber says that although Black-owned businesses slightly increased – from 1.9 percent in 2007 to 2.0 percent in 2012 – there are factors that continue to challenge this group of Americans. Many of those challenges derives from their own back yards. Local tax laws, regulatory requirements, and licensing, for instance, are areas that sometimes help or hinder Black business owners. However, there are cities like Austin TX, Dallas, and Columbus, OH that ranked high in overall business friendliness. Check out Thumbtack’s Top 10 list below: What Lieber learned, from the survey, is that the average Black business-owner was younger, worked alone, and concerned about inflation. He also says that most of these businesses were Catering, DJs, Cleaning Services. Also, represented were Movers, Income Tax Preparers, and Computer Repairmen as well. To find out more about Thumbtack’s survey findings, click HERE.
