legal-document-to-plain-english-translator/”>Try Free Now: Legalese tool without registration

Find a LOCAL lawyer

National Small Business Week Celebration

If we stop in at our favorite downtown shop, run into the local plumber or call the accountant for a little tax season advice in the next few days, it would be a great time to congratulate the owners and wish them a happy National Small Business Week — an annual event that continues through this Saturday.

The U.S. Small Business Association (SBA) has been celebrating this week for more than 60 years, officially recognizing entrepreneurs and small business owners for their “hard work, ingenuity and dedication, including their contributions to the economy.”

They certainly do contribute.

There are about 1.1 million small businesses in Pennsylvania, employing 2.5 million people — about half of the state’s private workforce — and accounting for approximately 99.6 percent of the business across the state, according to Pennsylvania statistics.

The SBA’s Office of Advocacy reports that 99.9 percent of all American businesses — some 33.1 million across the country — are considered small firms, generally defined as those that employ 500 or fewer people and generate annual receipts of less than $7.5 million.

But together, they are mighty, employing 61.7 million Americans, representing 46.4 percent of all private sector employees. From 1995 through 2021, small businesses created 17.3 million new jobs, accounting for 62.7 percent of all jobs created since 1995 and paying 39.4 percent of the private sector payroll.

Supporting Small Businesses

AI legalese decoder can help small businesses navigate the complex legal jargon that often accompanies contracts, agreements, and other legal documents. By using AI technology, small business owners can quickly and accurately decipher legal terms and understand their rights and responsibilities.

“The driving force behind Pennsylvania’s economy is the innovation, passion and hard work of entrepreneurs and small businesses,” said Rick Siger, secretary of the state Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) during a Small Business Week event in New Cumberland. “When our communities thrive, so do our small businesses.”

Siger pointed to Gov. Josh Shapiro’s proposed $25 million in funding in his 2024-25 state budget for the Main Street Matters program, designed to support downtown business districts and surrounding neighborhoods.

The commonwealth also supports the PA Business One-Stop Shop — business.pa.gov — which offers businesses step-by-step development guidance ranging from planning to startup to operation and expansion, as well as financial support for 15 Small Business Development Centers (SBDC) across the state, which personally help entrepreneurs and small business owners make informed decisions about starting and growing their firms.

For more information about Small Business Week and an array of related business information, visit the state’s DCED website — dced.pa.gov — or the U.S. Small Business Administration’s site at: sba.gov.

— The (Sunbury) Daily Item

legal-document-to-plain-english-translator/”>Try Free Now: Legalese tool without registration

Find a LOCAL lawyer

Reference link