One could say that New York is one of the top locations for those looking to start a small business — small businesses now account for 99.8% of all businesses in the state, employ 47.1% of the state’s workers, and export $69.2 billion worth of goods. It is no surprise that in 2023, New York saw an 8% uptick in new business applications.
Yet, despite their significant role to the state’s economy, many small business owners feel financially neglected, lacking the necessary support from New York’s financial and government institutions. Over 21% of businesses in New York fail within the first year. And this figure only spikes from there, with 52.8% of businesses failing within the first five years.
The sentiment among many New York small business owners is that they are alone, but that must change. July 1 marks National Financial Freedom Day, a day dedicated to raising awareness about how to achieve financial freedom. This Financial Freedom Day, it is critical that the private sector and public sector acknowledge the progress that needs to be made to better support small businesses and come together to help more small businesses succeed.