Within any speech or discussion about supplier diversity and small business development, we all recite and listen to similar comments.  Comments that reflect how “Minority Business Represents 7% of Federal Contracts; Small Business is the Driving Force of the Nation’s Economy; Minority Business is Critical to the Growth & Economic Development of the Economy; Small Business is the Backbone of the U.S. Economy; Small Business Accounts for 99% of all of the New Jobs in America; Small Business Represents Two-thirds of the Private Sector Jobs; Small Business Represents ½ of the GDP.”

With these glorious superlatives about small business, we should want to grant a term consistent and worthy of such vast attainment.  Particularly, since the public and private sectors are working diligently to develop and include enterprises owned, control, and operated by Native American, Asian, black and Latino citizenry.

As you review the terms that follow in the next section, keep in mind that these are actual descriptions used over the past couple of decades entitling the businesses and programs in place by the public and private sectors for small business utilization.  At a minimum, the assortment of so many names shows a differentiation of our understanding about the target group and our collective objective.   These capture the most used and some were not so favorable, such as;