You hear about big business all of the time. However, big business is not the only type of business out there.

small business is booming, and these are usually fantastic businesses that are created on a passion for the goods or services that the business is offering. But what does it take to qualify as a small business?

A small business is defined by the Small Business Act as „one that is independently owned and operated and which is not dominant in its field of operation.“

That means that the business is not a part of a larger conglomerate, and that it is not the leading competitor in its specific industry.

The term small business may seem to indicate that the actual size of the business should, but the Small Business Act says that the size requirements can vary depending on the specific industry that the business operates in.

That being said, there are specific number requirements that exist per industry, and those are determined and continually reevaluated by the Small Business Association. Typically, this number dictates either the total number of employees that a business may employ or the total budget that a company may hold per year.