This week — April 30 through May 6 — is being celebrated as Small Business Week across the Nation, Tennessee, and in Elizabethton.

We often hear that small businesses are the backbone of our country, the engines of job creation. They may not generate a lot of money or a lot of jobs, but they are vital to the local economy. Their value and the role they play in our economy is sometimes underestimated because, they are in fact, small. But the truth is there’s nothing small about the impact they have in our economy.

According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, small businesses represent 99.7 percent of all employer firms. Since 1995, small businesses have generated 64 percent of new jobs, and paid 44 percent of the total United States private payroll, according to the SBA.

Take a walk down Elk Avenue and E Street. It is small businesses that make up our downtown. Elk Avenue serves as one of the identities of our community and has a diversity of shops and businesses, among them eating places, furniture stores, antique shops, service businesses such as banks, law offices, insurance offices, a drug store, hairdressers, manicure and pedicure shops, just to name a few.

Every week new business licenses are issued at the Carter County Courthouse. The variety of businesses represented in licenses issued this spring include lawn care and property management, campgrounds, boutiques, and construction. They represent income to the people starting the businesses, an investment in the community, and new tax revenue — the life blood of almost all communities. It is tax money that pays for local police protection and fire departments, as well as schools and streets.

Small businesses pay a significant portion of all taxes in the United States, including income tax, property tax, and employment tax.

Small businesses do not always stay small. Large corporations, such as Nike and Ben and Jerry’s, started off as small businesses that grew to become major players in the national and international marketplace. Many computer-industry leaders began as “tinkerers,” working on hand-assembled machines out of their garages. Microsoft is a prime example of how a small business idea can change the world. Small businesses that grow into large businesses often remain in the community in which the business was first established. Having a large corporation headquartered in a community can further help provide employment and stimulate the local economy.

Small businesses are vital to the success of the economy. Not only as they provide the success stories of the future, but also because they meet local needs (e.g. hairdresser, financial consultant, emergency plumber). They serve the requirements of larger businesses, such as printed stationery, catering, and routine maintenance.

There are many good reasons to shop local businesses. With a small business you know who you are dealing with; you can put a “face” to the person you are in contact with. Person-to-person interaction is as important as ever in building strong relationships.

Small business owners work in their businesses, live near their businesses, provide jobs, add to the tax base, participate in community activities, support local charities and share community concerns. These are the best reasons we know to support our small Elizabethton businesses, and we encourage you to do so, not only next week, but all during the year.