I’m always interested in various facts and figures, and when I stumbled across a study of what the average small business owner earns per year I was fascinated by what the actual numbers would say.
Was it some really low number due to the fact that many new businesses fail, or was it crazy high due to the wild success of a small percentage? I didn’t know what to expect.
After seeing the numbers and thinking about it for a moment, it all kind of makes sense. The data indicates the average earnings of a small business owner to be $66,375. It may not seem like a lot, but remember a lot of new businesses fail, and those people made nothing! The approximate numbers break down like this:
- 30% earned nothing
- 10% earned less than 20,000
- 20% earned between $20,000 and $50,000
- 15% earned between $50,000 and $75,000
- 10.% earned between $75000, and $100,000
- 7.5% earned between $100,000 and $150,000
- 7.5% earned over $150.000
All in all these numbers make a lot of sense. A little more than 20% of small business owners make most of the money. This is in the ballpark of the famous 80/20 rule by Vilfredo Pareto. Anyway, if you ever wondered how much the average Joe earned in his own business, now you know!