FLORIDA SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CENTER AT IRSC
NUMBER OF NEW BUSINESSES RISES DESPITE
PANDEMIC AND SLOW ECONOMIC RECOVERY
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TCBusiness.com
While there is not much positive to say
about the economic devastation caused
by the COVID-19 pandemic locally and
nationally, there is at least one silver lining.
And with what we have gone through,
we’ll take it.
According to new economic data,
new businesses are being formed at the
highest pace in years. And if history is any
guide, a substantial number of these new
small businesses will grow and create jobs,
helping to power the economic recovery
that is so desperately needed.
On the east coast of Florida, the Miami
metro area has one of the nation’s highest
levels of new business formation, so this
trend could have a larger impact on this
region’s economy.
“Startups represent the future of our
region’s marketplace,” said Tom Kindred,
regional director for the Florida Small
Business Development Center at Indian
River State College. “Small at inception, a
number of these startup businesses will
eventually grow providing employment
opportunities, new services and innovative
products, while driving economic
expansion for the Treasure Coast.”
Business formation nationally reached
record highs in the first nine months of
2021, despite the spread of the Delta variant.
The surge in new business formation
began to take off in the middle of 2020,
hitting record levels last year.
Add to that the fact that monthly filings
this year have remained well above historical
norms, an indication of the trend’s staying
power, according to New Economic
Innovation Group’s Q3 analysis of Census
Bureau data on new business applications.
Here are some of the findings:
• New business applications among
likely employers through September
2021 were the highest of any year on
record. The nearly 1.4 million applications
filed to form new businesses likely
to hire employees so far in 2021 represent
409,000 more filings than at the same
point in 2019, or 255,000 more than at this
point in 2020.
• Business formation appears to be
on a record-setting pace in 2021. The
rate of filings in the first nine months of
2021 was 41% more than at this point in
2019 and 22% above the exceptional volume
filed through September 2020. This
year claims six of the top 10 months for
likely employer business filings on record.
• Industries highly affected by the
pandemic showed the largest gains. Applications
were up across all major
industry categories except agriculture and
mining relative to 2019, and nearly threequarters
of the gains over 2019 levels appear
in just four sectors: accommodation
and food services, retail trade, health care
and social assistance, and transportation
and warehousing.
The lack of strong new business formation
in the wake of the Great Recession
hindered the country and Florida’s
economic recovery for years, but the
economic resurgence from the pandemic
is shaping up quite differently.
However, it is important to note that
while the surge in new business applications
is certainly promising, it will be some
time before the extent of business closures
due to the pandemic can be tallied and
there is a full picture of the net effect of the
pandemic on the country’s business and
entrepreneurial landscape, the report said.
Still, ensuring that many of these new
business applications turn into successful
businesses will be crucial for putting the
national and local economy on a durable
path to post-pandemic recovery and helping
eliminate the startup deficit that built
up in recent years.
“The dream of owning and operating
one’s own business does not come without
risk, launching a new venture should
only be done after considerable research
and business planning has been completed,”
Kindred said. “However, with the
availability of inexpensive capital, multiple
Upon returning home to the Treasure Coast from
the University of Florida, Tom Kindred served as the
first executive director of Fort Pierce Main Street, a
nonprofit downtown redevelopment organization,
creating and establishing multiple special events
including Friday Fest, an iconic event that has
endured for 30 years. Following his civic work, he
spent 25 years as a private business owner and
operator, directing, coordinating and managing
sales of more than $148 million. After earning
his Master of Business Administration degree, he
began instructing business courses at Indian River
State College’s School of Business. Kindred now
serves the community as the regional director
for the Florida SBDC at Indian River State College,
sharing his real-world business experience with
like-minded business owners and entrepreneurs.
new business models, opportunities and a
strong state and regional economy, now is
a good time to be entrepreneurial.”
As the region’s economic recovery
begins to show signs of life, keep turning
to Treasure Coast Business Magazine and
the Small Biz Florida radio show for advice
and resources for growing new or existing
business. v
This article is provided by the Florida SBDC at
IRSC, the Small Business Development Center
within Indian River State College’s School
of Business. The center’s team of business
experts works one-on-one with hundreds of
entrepreneurs and business owners each year
by providing confidential, no-cost consulting.
The center’s mission is to help Treasure Coast
businesses grow and succeed.
BY NANCY DAHLBERG
THE RATE OF FILINGS IN THE
FIRST NINE MONTHS OF 2021
WAS 41% MORE THAN AT THIS
POINT IN 2019 AND 22% ABOVE
THE EXCEPTIONAL VOLUME FILED
THROUGH SEPTEMBER 2020.
/TCBusiness.com