From: http://www.bizjournals.com/

Women and minorities are increasing their share of ownership of small- and-mid-sized businesses, a trend expected to continue into 2017, according to information compiled by a division of American City Business Journals.

In 2012, women owned 36 percent of all such U.S. firms, and are projected to own 39 percent by 2017. Hispanic- and other minority-owned businesses were 41 percent of the U.S. total in 2012, and are expected to become the majority, 56 percent, in 2017.

That’s the most dramatic finding from the ACBJ study, which was based on Census data and projections, and a nationally representative sample of more than 1,400 business owners and key decision makers. The ACBJ surveys were conducted from late November 2015 through early January 2016. Other highlights from the study are:

• Several major companies have leaped into the top 25 most-trusted brands since last year, notably payments company Square, which came in at No. 7. Other companies making the top 25 list the first time were: Vanguard, DoubleTree by Hilton, Hilton, Courtyard by Marriott, American Express OPEN, JetBlue, and GEICO.
• The most trusted brands were: Amazon, Apple, and Southwest Airlines.

• Companies with at least 20 employees have been growing significantly faster than their smaller counterparts. That data covers companies of between 1 and 999 employees and was conducted in 2015 and compared to 2014 numbers.

• Millennial employees outnumber both Generation X and Boomers and account for more than a third to employees.
• Among owners, Boomers are still the majority, followed by Generation X, and Millennials only own about 16 percent of small- and-mid-sized businesses.

• Sales growth remained flat in 2015, but the percentage of companies with sales growth of 11% or more increased while the percentage of those growing less than 10% fell.

• Republicans are particularly worried about the upcoming presidential election and its impact on business, with a majority saying they are “very concerned” about it. In contrast, only 21 percent of Democrats say they are “very concerned” about the election.