Every year families and friends get together to celebrate Thanksgiving -- a tradition dating back to 1621.  Thanksgiving was officially declared a national holiday by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863, so that's why most of us get the day off. 

     Did you know small businesses play a major role in making our Thanksgiving dinner a reality?  Well, think about the star of the Thanksgiving feast -- the turkey.  There are 319 firms involved in pourltry processing, with 265 (83%) employing fewer than 500 and 150 companies (47%) with less than 20 employees.  Remember, the SBA defines small businesses as firms with less than 500 employees.  Now, 500 sounds like a huge operation to me as it probably does to a lot of you.  However, I'm sure you'd agree a 20 person staff is a relatively small enterprise.

    After dinner, think about all the great deserts we stuff ourselves with. The store bought goodies come from small businesses too.  In the bread and bakery product manufacturing area, there are a total of 9,227 firms -- 99% have fewer than 500 employees and 82% have staffs of 20 or less.  Of course, you purchase all your Thanksgiving fixins at the grocery store.  There are 68,584 groceries in the US.  Of those, 99.4% have less than 500 employees and 86% employe fewer than 20.

    So thanks to all the small business who help make Thanksgiving a treat for the rest of us.  By the way, I didn't come up with all these statistics myself.  They are the courtesy of the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council an organization that influences legislation and public policy to enhance the environment for business start-up and growth. Through advocacy, research and education, SBE Council members and staff convey the importance of small business to innovation, job creation, economic opportunity and the U.S. economy.

     Before I close, I'd like to take a moment to say thanks to all our SBTV.com advertisers, partner organizations, viewers, and expert contributors.  Your support and belief in our vision inspires us every day.  We are thankful to you for helping us grow throughout the year.  We look forward to another great year of serving the needs of the small business community.

Happy Thanksgiving!