Small Businesses
About Small Businesses
According to the Small Business Administration (SBA) Office of Advocacy, a small business is an independent business with fewer than 500 employees. As of 2023, 99.9% of U.S. businesses fit that designation. There are 33,185,500 small businesses in the U.S. that employ 61.7 million Americans, accounting for 46.4% of private sector employees.
These statistics call out the importance of supporting small businesses as a critical component of the U.S. economy. Small businesses can also be diverse or small disadvantaged businesses (SDBs). The SBA reports that the U.S. government awards approximately 10% of federal contract dollars—an estimated $50 billion—to SDBs annually.
Current Goals
In October 2022, the White House called for SDBs to receive 12% of federal contracting funds allocated in fiscal 2023.
The Fisher Scientific Supplier Diversity program can help you show your support for small businesses by working with you to develop a custom plan and measuring and tracking your spend in specific diversity categories.
Top Brands
Become a Supplier Diversity Partner
If you are a small or diverse business, we can help you achieve your goals too. We offer training, order and logistics support, inventory management, and so much more. Find out what it takes to become eligible for our program.