Something significant is happening across America’s small business economy. Entrepreneurs and small firms are acquiring reach, capabilities, and operating capacity that not long ago were largely the domain of much bigger companies.
Three recently released economic impact reports from Amazon, TikTok, and Shopify provide different windows into this transformation. Taken together, their findings reveal an entrepreneurial economy increasingly powered by digital platforms, e-commerce infrastructure, and artificial intelligence (AI). The stack of digital tools being used by small businesses allows them to reach massive markets, find new customers, operate more efficiently, and compete at a scale that belies their physical size.