November 19, 2012
Good Morning,
This week, as we celebrate Thanksgiving, the Delta Regional Authority reflects on how thankful we are for our Small Businesses and Entrepreneurs, especially during National Entrepreneurship Month. That is why Alternate Federal Co-Chairman Mike Marshall and I will take the first part of Thanksgiving week to say "thank you" in person to our small business owners in the region.
Today, we are also releasing an economic report that focuses on what's working and what's not when it comes to creating jobs across the region. Working with Dr. James Stapleton, Executive Director of the Douglas C. Greene Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship at Southeast Missouri State University, we have taken a look at the jobs that have been created in the region between 1992 and 2009. We worked to find out who is creating these jobs and where they are. The report, Jobs and Small Businesses, uses private sector data to look back in time at the region from an economic perspective. The findings are simple: Small Businesses and Entrepreneurs stay in good times and bad.
Some of the key findings include:
- Since1992, locally-owned establishments with 9 or fewer employees have created over 91 percent of the net new jobs.
- In the difficult years following the recession, local small businesses created over 58,000 new jobs.
- During that same time, nonresident and noncommercial establishments that eliminated nearly 368,000.
The report confirms that it is the small businesses that are creating jobs and that our local businesses in the Delta don't turn and run when times get tough. In fact, they stick around, continue to invest in their communities and their workers, and push forward. So when Dr. Stapleton first informed me of the details and findings of our new report, Jobs and Small Businesses, I knew that the best way to say thank you to our business owners in the Delta who remained committed to our communities and local economies, even when the going got tough, was to stop by in person.
This will also be an opportunity for us to encourage our communities to take part in Small Business Saturday on the 24th. Saturday, November 24, 2012 is Small Business Saturday® – a day to celebrate and support small businesses and all they do for their communities. Please join us at the Delta Regional Authority in supporting your Delta small businesses and entrepreneurs by shopping at a small business.
How You Can Participate
For shoppers
- Find participating small businesses in your area
I also invite you to Join Small Business Saturday® on Facebook and spread the word on other social media
For partner organizations and other government agencies
- Follow and like DRA on social media for all the latest updates on #SmallBizSat
We will stop by Small Businesses in the following locations where we will meet with small business owners and visit with community leaders, encouraging them to take part in Small Business Saturday.
Monday, November 19
Jonesboro, Arkansas
Carbondale, Illinois
Paducah, Kentucky
Cape Girardeau, Missouri
Tuesday, November 20
Hayneville, Alabama
Ridgeland, Mississippi
Monroe, Louisiana
Bartlett, Tennessee
I would like to invite you to join us at our first stop in Jonesboro, Arkansas that will be streamed live this morning at 9:00 am Central by ConnectAR at www.dra.gov.
For more information about next week’s events or Small Business Saturday®, please feel free to contact Amanda Richardson at (501) 912-5722, arichardson@dra.gov.
Until then, shop small.
Sincerely,
Chris Masingill