home Credit Experience of small and medium-sized businesses in developed foreign countries. Small business in foreign practice Business in developed countries

Experience of small and medium-sized businesses in developed foreign countries. Small business in foreign practice Business in developed countries

As the experience of developed countries shows, small business plays a very important role in the economy, its development affects economic growth, saturating the market with goods of the required quality, creating new additional jobs, i.e. solves many pressing economic, social and other problems.

Small enterprises, as evidenced by the experience of Western countries, can play a significant role in achieving economic stability and effective functioning of the country's economy.

Let's consider the positive experience of Germany in the development and functioning of small businesses.

The post-war economy of West Germany was in a deplorable state. The winners destroyed or dismantled a significant part of the plants and factories, 2/3 of the production facilities were inactive, and agricultural land was withdrawn from economic use. In 1946, industrial production was about "/3 of the pre-war level, agriculture was thrown back 30 years. The financial system was upset. The amount of money in circulation during the war years increased 5 times. Inflation reached 600% in relation to the pre-war level .

The program for the restoration and development of the German economy was focused on the formation of a so-called social market economy, which would combine freedom of consumption, entrepreneurship (including small business), disposal of private property, freedom to conclude contracts, etc. with the active role of the state in economic life.

The main ideologist and architect of the economic revival was Professor L. Erhard. His reform activities were based on the concept of a “social market economy,” which in its theoretical principles was close to the Keynesian theory of indirect regulation. The main elements of the theoretical model of a market economy were:

the goal is a high level of well-being for all segments of the population;

the way to achieve the goal is free market competition and private enterprise;

The state plays an active role in creating the prerequisites and conditions for competition.

Economic reform began with streamlining the monetary economy, freeing prices, as well as measures to stimulate entrepreneurial activity

Small and medium-sized businesses, to which the state paid special attention, became the basis of production activity. The state policy was aimed at its full development. In 1953, enterprises employing up to 500 people already employed more than half of all those employed in the country's economy.

The reforms produced positive results in the shortest possible time. Within two years, the “black market” disappeared, the production of consumer goods doubled, there was almost no inflation, and a stable currency appeared.

The economic development of Germany in the late 1950s and 60s is called an “economic miracle,” and the state’s attention to the problems of small business development played a significant role here.

In the 1970s, transnational corporations that emerged from the union of national firms from individual countries actively developed various forms of cooperation with small and medium-sized businesses. The role of small and medium-sized businesses in the economy has been steadily increasing. Their share in GDP by the end of the 1980s. reached 50%, and the number of employed was about 2/3 of the economically active population.

Currently in Germany, the programs for the development of small and medium-sized businesses are the following:

- program “Concept for the development of scientific and technical policy in relation to small and medium-sized enterprises”;
- program “Stimulating savings for starting your own business.”

The first program provides financing for small businesses in Germany, the second helps to open your own business, so-called “start-up” projects. A special government body - the Recovery Credit Council, reporting directly to the federal government - is designed to monitor the implementation of the above programs and provide mechanisms for their implementation. As part of the implementation of federal programs, loans are provided for businesses on preferential terms.

Today, small businesses in Europe stimulate the development of competition, “force” large companies to introduce new technologies and improve production efficiency; the efficiency of the entire EU economy directly depends on the successful activities of small and medium-sized businesses. Therefore, within the framework of the European Union, a policy is being implemented to support small businesses, the main goal of which is to balance the interests of the state and business, to ensure optimal conditions for entrepreneurial activity, and to increase the competitiveness of small businesses.

Currently, the European Union's policy towards small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is based on the so-called vertical and horizontal approach to solving the problems of their creation and operation.

The vertical approach is expressed in direct activities focused exclusively on SMEs. These activities are prepared and implemented by the XXIII Directorate General of the European Commission (Enterprise, Commerce, Tourism and Social Economic Policy) in cooperation with the European Parliament, the Economic and Social Council, the SME representative organizations in the EU bodies and other services of the EU Commission.

The horizontal approach is based on protecting the interests of SMEs in other areas of EU activity (such as research and development policy, regional policy, international relations, etc.) and strengthening the position of SMEs in the relevant activity.

As is known, one of the main tasks of the European Union is to implement the principle of “social and economic fusion”, aimed at establishing equality of opportunity for regions with different levels of development, as well as for different social groups. This principle implies that less developed regions and poorer sections of society in the EU should be supported first.

Given the importance of SMEs for the economic structure of the EU, it can be argued that the successful integration of the economy within the Union largely depends on the development of SMEs. Therefore, in addition to the importance of “macroeconomic” positions, one should remember the role of SMEs at the regional level, when small and medium-sized enterprises contribute to economic development and employment growth in less developed regions. For the successful development of SMEs, two lines must be optimally combined: macroeconomic (in terms of general policy) and microeconomic (entrepreneurial)2.

In order to become a normal market economy with a large number of business entities, a multiple increase in the number of people working in the small business market is necessary. And here, according to expert (Dean of the Faculty of Sociology at the Higher School of Economics) Alexander Chepurenko, it is very important to support startups to which banks prefer not to give loans due to high risk and lack of credit history. Business angels could also provide good support for the development of innovative projects. In developed countries, the state actively cooperates with them, co-financing interesting projects. “These are large-scale programs. And until we reach this level of development, no Skolkovo will help us,” the expert assures.

The prospects for the development of entrepreneurship, including small business, are directly determined by the possibilities of forming close cooperative ties between small and large enterprises. The experience of Western countries shows that in a normal market economy the dominant part of small firms, one way or another, is in the sphere of interests of large ones. Small enterprises are covered by a system of cooperative ties with large businesses. Large corporations use the market and structural flexibility of small enterprises and their innovative capabilities. Cooperation between large enterprises and small firms helps corporations quickly penetrate new markets, implement new technological solutions, and quickly obtain important information; in other words, small enterprises act as an integral part of the production structure of large corporations.

In all countries, small and medium-sized businesses are currently one of the main employers and the main environment that generates entrepreneurial talent.

In the United States, the development of small business assistance programs began during the Great Depression, when many people lost their jobs. In 1953, the US government created a specialized agency that provides technical and financial support to aspiring businessmen. In 1953, a federal agency was created in the United States - the US Small Business Administration, which to this day defends and protects the interests of small businesses at the government level. Moreover, branches of this organization are located in all major cities, thus, the policy of supporting small businesses applies to all states, and not just to the main economic centers of the United States. The main tasks of the Small Business Administration and its affiliates:

- assistance in obtaining a business loan;
- technical and information support for small businesses in the USA;
- providing guarantees for business loans;
- direct subsidizing and lending to small businesses from our own budget.

In the United States, there is a very clearly developed system of criteria by which small businesses are defined. These criteria depend on the type of activity of the small enterprise and the industry in which it operates. In some areas, the determining factor is the number of people working at the enterprise, in others - turnover and profit.

In addition to the Federal Agency, a special Lawyer Department has been created to comply with legal legislation regarding small businesses, which defends the interests of business in court and Congress. The US authorities assign small businesses one of the main roles in their concept of economic development. In the reports of US government ministers, the same idea constantly creeps in that small business is an important lever for improving the health of the entire economy as a whole.

Also interesting is the foreign experience of small businesses, which began to actively develop in Spain in the seventies of the last century. Any citizen of the country can open a private enterprise within one day, providing a minimum number of documents. This country has created many programs to help private businesses; the government of this country pays special attention to the development of knowledge-intensive and innovative technologies. The Spanish government also encourages the emergence of various funds that provide comprehensive support to private entrepreneurship. The powerful scientific and technological breakthrough that Japan made after the end of World War II is also associated with the development of small businesses. Currently, small businesses produce about 40% of this country's industrial output. The Japanese government has adopted a number of laws that stimulate the development of private enterprises operating in the scientific and technical field and actively cooperating with large industrial corporations. The Japanese authorities have also organized training and consulting centers where a new entrepreneur can obtain all the necessary legal information.

The experience of developing small businesses in Japan is also interesting, where, thanks to the successful development in the post-war years in the field of technical achievements and economic growth, the country became one of the three most developed countries in the world. This was facilitated by enormous government support for small businesses. The share of small businesses in the Japanese economy is about 40%, despite the presence in the country of a huge number of scientific companies and large concerns involved in the production of cars, audio and video equipment and other technical products. It should be noted that only large organizations are engaged in the manufacture of high-tech products and the development of innovative technologies in Japan, and the country's small businesses are concentrated in the field of construction, light industry and the service sector. Therefore, Japan's economic policy is aimed at developing technical and knowledge-intensive production in small businesses.

Legislative acts regulating business activities adopted by the Japanese government highlight the status of small businesses and establish the amount of benefits for them in accordance with the type of activity. A large number of laws regulate antitrust activities in Japan.

Japanese legislation strictly regulates the market value of manufactured products, introducing restrictions on the size of its increase/decrease. If unconfirmed discounts are identified or there are speculative prices, small businesses are deprived of the right to carry out their activities. These actions apply to all enterprises. The development of market mechanisms allows the Japanese Government to control unconfirmed price increases and the occurrence of inflation. Considering the above, we can conclude that in Japan there are good conditions for the development of small businesses.

The regulation of small businesses in Japan is carried out by the Small Business Administration, which reports to the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Industry of Japan. The Department of Small Enterprises is responsible for monitoring the implementation of antimonopoly legislation, ensuring state protection of the interests of small businesses in the country, limiting the control of business owners, and determining the responsibility of customers and performers when concluding contractual agreements between them.

In order to facilitate the procedures for obtaining loans by small businesses and the Japanese government, the Small and Medium Enterprise Insurance Corporation and Loan Guarantee Associations were created, similar to the creation of State Funds for the development and support of small businesses in China, the USA and other countries.

The Japanese government at all levels of government allocates subsidies at all stages of development of small businesses that take an active part in the development of knowledge-intensive and high-tech industries. The state allocates loans for them and provides assistance in obtaining loans by providing guarantees and other means of credit guarantees. At the same time, with state support, specialists are trained in specially created centers and qualified consulting is provided to entrepreneurs.

The main purposes for which subsidies, loans on special preferential terms and loans are provided include:

improvement and modernization of production of enterprises in the knowledge-intensive industry;

implementation of innovative technologies developed jointly with scientific institutions;

promoting the development of light and food industries;

development and introduction of new types of products;

creation and development of new small businesses in regions of Japan with a poorly developed level of industry.

In general, it can be said that the development of small businesses in the West is proceeding at a faster pace, since national authorities attach great importance to small businesses and provide them with support at the federal level. Small businesses in developed countries currently represent the middle class, which serves as the basis for stable economic development. Even former developing countries made a big economic breakthrough precisely with the development of small and medium-sized businesses (Taiwan, Singapore, Indonesia, etc.). If you trace the pace of development of small enterprises in these countries, you can see the dependence of the development of the entire economy as a whole.

Business statistics make it possible to identify the most profitable industries and determine which area needs development more than others. Such information makes it possible to understand where and with whom to work and what specialty is best to obtain in order to be successful and wealthy.

Statistics by country

World business statistics allow us to compile a ranking of countries that have created the most favorable conditions for entrepreneurship. Data presented in table:

A country		Place in the world
A country		By the number of registered enterprises	For lending	For international trade	By the number of liquidated enterprises
New Zealand	1	1	1	55	34
Singapore	2	6	20	41	29
Denmark	3	24	32	1	8
Hong Kong	4	3	20	42	28
South Korea	5	11	44	32	4
Norway	6	21	75	22	6
Great Britain	7	16	20	28	13
USA	8	51	2	35	5
Sweden	9	15	75	18	19
Macedonia	10	4	16	27	32
Estonia	12	14	32	17	42
Latvia	14	22	7	25	44
Georgia	16	8	7	54	106
Germany	17	114	32	38	3
Lithuania	21	29	32	19	66
Canada	22	2	7	46	15
Kazakhstan	35	45	75	119	37
Belarus	37	31	101	30	69
Armenia	38	9	20	48	78
Russia	40	26	44	140	51
Azerbaijan	65	5	118	83	86
Kyrgyzstan	75	30	32	79	130
Ukraine	80	20	20	115	150
Uzbekistan	87	25	44	165	77
Tajikistan	128	85	118	144	144

Small business indicators in the world

Business statistics suggest that small businesses make a major contribution to the state's economy. Especially in leading countries. Small businesses in the world, according to statistics, are capable of providing significant income, many jobs, and growth.

In the USA, ½ of the working-age population works at small business enterprises. There are over 20 million of them registered in America. Analytics shows that every third family in the United States is involved in business. More than 40% of GDP comes from small business enterprises.

Developed countries provide great support to small businesses and receive good returns from them in the form of development of innovation and employment of the country.

Statistics from the Association of European Businesses show that small business enterprises in EU countries are developing very quickly. Small business abroad is at a higher level than in Russia. It is one of the components of economic development. Small businesses in Europe, according to statistics, make up from 70% to 90% of all enterprises. More than half of the population of the EU country works in this field.

According to statistics, small businesses are developing most actively in Germany. The contribution of small business enterprises to the country's economy is almost ½ of the total. More than ½ of the working-age population is provided with jobs through small businesses. SBEs make up 99% of all enterprises in the country. Many of them have entered the world market. More than 1 thousand small businesses in Germany have become world leaders.

Data for Russia

Business statistics in Russia over the past 10 years show the closure of more small business enterprises than were opened. In our country, only 4% of enterprises exist for more than 3 years. The rest die much earlier. Many close in their first year of operation. Less than 20% of total GDP comes from small businesses in Russia. Statistics confirm these figures. Here, unlike Europe and the USA, they do not provide adequate support to small business enterprises.

Business statistics in Russia show that over 5 years the number of enterprises has increased by an average of 4%. The number of closed business entities increased by 11%.

What are the statistics on starting a business according to Rosstat for 2016–2017? There were 3.5 million registered entrepreneurs in our country. However, more than 7 million ceased operations. Business closure statistics are simply scary.

Statistics of business incubators in Russia highlight the main reasons why business activities cease. The data is shown in the diagram:

Below is a graph showing how the small business in Russia according to statistics from 2005 to 2015:

Business development statistics indicate a negative trend in our country. This happens for a number of reasons. Main business problems according to statistics:

high prices for raw materials;
complex and frequently changing legislation;
unstable ruble exchange rate;
high lending rates in banks;
in business;
high taxes;
large contributions to the Pension Fund;
. in business centers it is stated that such incidents often lead to the closure of enterprises due to lack of money for restoration;
sanctions from other countries;
crisis, which has reduced the demand for services and .

Business lending statistics indicate that in 2016, 24% more were issued than in 2015. New economic conditions are forcing entrepreneurs to contact banks more often. In 2016, banks issued more than 4 trillion. rub. for lending to small and medium-sized businesses. Most often, entrepreneurs take out loans in. The diagram shows business statistics by area for 2013–2014:

As you can see, in Russia there are the largest number of enterprises that deal with... Their income for 2014 amounted to 15 trillion. rub. The second place goes to companies involved in real estate. Their income amounted to about 3 trillion. rub. The volume of capital of organizations providing medical and social services is 194.36 billion rubles. The diagram shows the number of individual entrepreneurs by:

Small businesses demonstrate the lowest performance in Crimea.

Ukraine, Belarus and Abkhazia

What are the business statistics in Ukraine? This area is far from being at a high level today. The total amount of tax revenues from business in 2013 amounted to 260 billion hryvnia. According to statistics, not a very large percentage falls on large businesses. Large enterprises are not the main taxpayers. Since there are not very many of them in the country. The largest tax revenues, according to statistics, come from small businesses. The IBA's share accounts for more than 200 billion hryvnia.

Statistics show small and medium-sized businesses in first place in terms of the number of jobs. More than 70% of the population works in small enterprises. Medium and small ones sell more products than large ones. Statistics on small business support show that a lot has been done in the country since 2015. The period for registering enterprises has been reduced. Now the procedure takes only 2 days. About 40% of documents for opening an individual entrepreneur were canceled.

Small business in Belarus, according to statistics, is developing very slowly. The Republic of Belarus lags far behind other countries. In 2003, the number of small business enterprises was 2.5 per 1000 population. In 2010, the figure increased to 7.2. In 2011, there were only 72 thousand small enterprises in the country. In recent years, the number of small businesses has increased by 13%.

Statistics on business contributions show that in Belarus small businesses make a small contribution to the country's economy. Of the working-age population, only 13% are employed in business. In developed countries this figure sometimes reaches 70%. Entrepreneurial activity still remains unattractive for the country's population.

What are the statistics of venture business in the Republic of Belarus? This area is practically undeveloped. The main reasons are that investment is not developed in the Republic, there are no new technologies, there are few enterprising people and the market is very small.

Business statistics in Abkhazia indicate that the most developed industries here are trade and

Indicators by industry

Business statistics state that the success of an enterprise largely depends on the industry in which it operates. There are the most and least popular areas of activity. Russia is going through hard times restaurant business. Statistics state that 1.5% of establishments were closed last year alone. According to forecasts, in 2017 the figures will increase to 20%. Due to the crisis, Russians prefer to save money and visit restaurants and other similar establishments less often.

Hotel business statistics show stable demand for such services. Over the past 15 years, the number of hotels has increased by 63%. The situation is worse with rest homes and sanatoriums. Most of these establishments have undergone reconstruction and renovation.

According to statistics, the entertainment business is in demand even in times of crisis. The chart shows which parts of the entertainment industry are the most and least popular:

Network business statistics indicate that this area attracts a huge number of potential employees and buyers. The annual increase in company profits is 20–30%. The number of people working in this area is more than 100 million people.

In America, 20% of millionaires made their fortune from online business. According to experts, network marketing will account for 70% of all businesses in the future.

The most successful industries and companies

Profitable business statistics demonstrate that there are goods and services that are in demand even in times of crisis. These are clothing, shoes, food, medicines, car and household appliance repairs. Statistics on profitable businesses were published in. The rating is as follows:

Statistics of successful businesses state that individuals and companies that provide such services receive the largest net profit. And even times of crisis do not affect their income in any way.

According to statistics, business sharks include: billionaire Michel Ferrero. His company is one of the largest chocolate producers in Europe. In second place is Brad Hughes. His automated lockers along highways have generated a fortune of $5 billion. Third place goes to Ralph Lauren. He made his billions by producing horse polo shirts. Jeff Bizos is in fourth place in the ranking. He is the owner of the world's largest online store. Fifth place belongs to Ty Warner. He made billions by producing teddy bears.

conclusions

As business statistics show, Russia lags far behind Western countries. But if the government takes certain steps and agrees to meet individual entrepreneurs, then there will be much more enterprises, which will have a beneficial effect on the country’s economy.

Small business is an important socio-economic institution in developed national economic systems. It is based on entrepreneurship, the initiative activities of individuals with the aim of making a profit. Also, small business is partly the economic basis for the existence of the middle class in modern theories of the stratification of society.

Small businesses in developed economies have a number of advantages that attract the attention of scientists. With favorable state and municipal policies, it can provide a high return on investment in innovation, create personal jobs, quickly respond to changing economic conditions and effectively provide employment for people with disabilities.

The criteria for classifying enterprises as small businesses have national characteristics. In the European Union, a small enterprise is considered to be one with up to 250 employees and an annual turnover of no more than 40 million euros. These criteria are used by the Eurostat agency to harmonize national statistics of member countries of the European Union.

Small are independent enterprises that do not have a monopoly in their field of activity and meet quantitative criteria in terms of the number of employees per year and the amount of revenue. In the United States, there are 5 subcategories of small businesses; for each of them, separate state and municipal support programs can be differentially applied.

As the analysis shows, small business is a relative category. It is allocated based on the goals and resource capabilities of the state. Additionally, some states have subcategories of microenterprises or family businesses. Enterprises with the same characteristics of economic activity may be objects of government support programs in some countries; in other countries, their development may not be a priority for authorities.

Statistics show the high contribution of small enterprises to the development of the economies of world leading countries. There are about 17 million small businesses in the United States. Small businesses create more than 40% of the gross national product. Half of small businesses have revenues of less than $500,000 or fewer employees. Across all nonfarm industries in the United States, nearly 97% of businesses are small by the Small Business Administration standard. About 90% of small enterprises in a number of developed countries of the EU, USA, China, India, Brazil are micro-enterprises with no more than 5 people. The criteria for classifying enterprises as small businesses make economic sense only in the context of the ongoing economic policy. Therefore, data on the level of small business development in different countries is not comparable.

State policy in the field of small business, as a rule, is based on the need to support and remove barriers. The state, pursuing a supportive policy, expects to receive deferred direct financial benefits in the form of tax revenues for future periods or positive external effects, employment, solving the problem of disproportionality of the national economy, development of innovative industries, etc. As an analysis of the scientific literature shows, the USA, China, Germany, the Czech Republic, Brazil and a number of other countries successfully implement support policies and receive the expected positive effects from small businesses.

Currently, support for small businesses in Russia is carried out at the state - federal, regional and municipal levels. The support infrastructure includes business incubators, venture funds, guarantee funds, chambers of commerce and industry, public organizations and other entities. The entire range of business infrastructure has been developed, the need for which experts previously spoke about.

Let's look at a regional example. In Moscow, aspiring entrepreneurs are covered by a set of measures. Subsidies may be provided for the purchase of fixed assets and materials, for the organization of a workplace, and rent in a maximum amount of 350 thousand rubles. Can be partially compensated for up to 2/3 of the refinancing interest rate, the interest rate on loans and leasing, certification costs, and 30% of the cost for connecting to electrical networks.

Small innovative enterprises can receive subsidies of up to 2.5 million rubles, and those working in priority areas, according to the regional policy of Moscow in 2011 - innovation, production, education, handicrafts, healthcare, up to 5 million rubles. The legal aspect of support is usually covered either within the framework of business incubator structures or by special bodies. There was a separate hotline for financial, tax, accounting, legal issues and relations with inspectors and other government bodies. Moscow regional authorities consider holding exhibitions and congresses to be an important area of activity in order to create business connections. The set of measures can be described as the most complete and covering all main areas. Despite the efforts made to support small businesses with the identification of priority development vectors, the result of support by some authors is assessed as not quite meeting expectations. The main idea of criticism is that the level of support has reached global levels, but the positive impact of small businesses on the economy is observed in an insignificant area.

Let's consider the dynamics of small business development in Russia. Data on all small enterprises were provided by Rosstat only based on the results of continuous observation of small and medium-sized businesses for 2011. Due to imperfections in the methodology, the data for analyzing the development of small businesses in 2005-2010. available in the Central Statistical Database excluding indicators of micro-enterprises 1-15 people. and individual entrepreneurs. The share of small businesses in Russia's gross domestic product cannot be determined accurately. Experts call the share of small and medium-sized businesses in GDP 15-27%. The latest data from Rosstat are 15.5% and 12.4%, excluding data on micro-enterprises and individual entrepreneurs. Thus, the question of accurately assessing the contribution of small businesses to Russia’s GDP remains open.

Critics of government support for small businesses in Russia report its ineffectiveness. They operate on the facts of a decrease in the number of microenterprises in Moscow in 2011 by 3.1% with an overall increase in Russia of 30.6% and a drop in the number of employees in microenterprises in Moscow in 2011 by 15% with an increase in Russia of 8.7 %. Moscow is considered a region with a high level of support for small businesses. It is noted that in 2011 the number of individual enterprises increased in regions where comprehensive support for small businesses is not provided, such as the Moscow, Voronezh, Orenburg regions, Krasnoyarsk Territory and the Far East. Data on the development of microenterprises and individual entrepreneurs until 2010 were not processed by Rosstat; there are no other open sources, provided that the data exists. Without being able to check the effectiveness of small business support programs in these regions on Internet portals, they can be assumed that there is no direct relationship between the growth of small businesses and the level of government support.

According to many modern experts, corruption in government is the main reason for the lack of significant results in the development of small businesses. The ability to establish contact with government officials and gain material benefits from this is more necessary for entrepreneurs than the creation of a new production function and the introduction of innovative ideas. As an illustration, we can cite the situation with the implementation of the target program “Support and development of small and medium-sized businesses in the Togliatti urban district.” Beginning entrepreneurs were allocated funds in the amount of up to 500 thousand rubles. for the purchase of fixed assets. The goal of the program in the single-industry town of Tolyatti was to stimulate the growth of small enterprises and reduce unemployment during the crisis. 70% of subsidies were stolen either by officials who received their share in collusion with entrepreneurs, or by entrepreneurs themselves. In most cases, fixed assets were not purchased or were given back to the seller, and workers were not employed. Municipal authorities did not keep records of entrepreneurs who organized self-employment and hired employees under this program, since records were not kept in their work books.

We cannot say that corruption covers the entire system of state and municipal support for small businesses. We can definitely say that a number of services, for example, consultations on a wide range of issues, are provided free of charge and are available to all interested entrepreneurs. However, participation in the competitive distribution of subsidies, as practice shows, in a number of cases is complicated by corruption.

A significant problem is the excessive number of laws, regulations and instructions that need to be implemented. An even bigger problem is caused by different interpretations of official documents by arbitration courts. Arbitration courts interpret differently the need to comply with the cash limit by an individual entrepreneur. It is easier for an entrepreneur to establish a corrupt connection with the tax authority in the event of a noticed violation of a controversial nature than to seek legal advice or file a claim in the Arbitration Court. Simplification of legislation and the abolition of numerous difficult-to-interpret instructions, regulations and rules, in our opinion, is one of the ways to improve the economy.

According to the corruption perception index, Russia took 143rd place out of 183 possible. In the ranking of countries by the degree of favorable conditions for doing business, Russia ranks 120th out of 183, which indicates unfavorable conditions for doing business. The registration period for a new enterprise is quite long and takes 22-37 days. depending on the region.

The Russian economy is one of the largest in the world, but a significant structural imbalance towards the energy sector and a territorial imbalance towards Moscow, St. Petersburg and the oil production and refining regions, coupled with a significant economic stratification of the population, determine its characteristic features. This could not but affect the structure by type of activity of small and medium-sized enterprises.

In most regions of Russia it does not have developed international connections, is concentrated in the field of oil production and refining and is not focused on the wealthy mass consumer - the middle class due to its absence. For example, in the USA, the mass, middle class consumer reads several daily newspapers, uses the services of household cleaners, and has a personal car. The consumption of these services presupposes the presence of a wide range of performers providing consumption, including small businesses. The lack of effective demand determines the moderate development of small businesses in most types of economic activity.

We believe that the ability of small businesses to quickly adapt to changing market conditions directly depends on the level of development of corruption and the degree of government regulation of the economy. Currently, government agencies are working to simplify doing business. In our opinion, the system of state support for small businesses in most regions of Russia is sufficiently developed. Its further development is inappropriate without fighting corruption and simplifying legislation regarding entrepreneurs.

In the context of the transformation of the world economy, the transition of civilization to a post-industrial path of development, small enterprises become an integral link in the structure of the social reproduction process, without which it is impossible to ensure the successful socio-economic development of society and the growth of production efficiency.

The development of small businesses makes a significant contribution to the formation of a competitive environment, and also meets global trends towards the formation of a flexible mixed economy, a combination of different forms of ownership and an economic model adequate to them, in which a complex synthesis of a competitive market mechanism and government regulation is realized. It is small enterprises that do not require large start-up investments and guarantee a high rate of resource turnover that are able to most quickly and economically solve the problems of restructuring, formation and saturation of the consumer goods market in conditions of destabilization of the Russian economy and limited financial resources.

All over the world, interaction between government and business is built on a mutually beneficial long-term basis. At the same time, the state creates favorable and stable legal conditions for entrepreneurs, forms the necessary support infrastructure, provides an attractive investment climate, eliminates administrative barriers, and increases the competitiveness of the national economy. In turn, businessmen help the authorities finance social programs and priority sectors, support the principle of fair competition in the economy, expand the tax base and create new jobs.

In developed countries, government assistance to small and medium-sized businesses is carried out in a wide variety of forms. First of all, this is the improvement of the regulatory framework, the development and implementation of development programs for specific enterprises, information and consulting assistance, preferential lending, subsidies, tax breaks, etc. - everything that creates a more favorable environment for the development of entrepreneurship, takes business out of the shadow sector of the economy , increases the tax base.

In countries with established market-oriented economies, small businesses are the most widespread category of business entities. SEs in these countries form the competitive principles of a market economy, provide the bulk of the working population with jobs, and create the necessary infrastructure for large businesses. Small business in developed countries is the basis of the middle class and, accordingly, a kind of indicator of the stability of the society of these countries. The level of development and state of MP, the pace of development is characterized by a number of indicators (Tables 18, 19).

Table 18

Comparative economic performance indicators

small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the mid-1990s.

	Number of SMEs thousand	Number of SMEs per 1000 people.	Employment in SMEs, million people	Share of SMEs in total employment, %	Share of SMEs in GDP, %
Great Britain			13.6		50-53
Germany			18.5		50-52
Italy			16.8		57-60
France			15.2		55-62
EU countries	15 770				63-67
USA	19 300	74.2	70.2		50-52
Japan		49.6	39.5		52-55
Russia:** a) Small enterprises		5.65	8.3		10-11

** Small businesses only, no individual entrepreneurs.

Table 19

The role of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)

(Data are presented in accordance with the national standards of each country for 1999-2000, respectively, for Russia only for MP)

In recent years, in Western Europe, the USA and Japan, small business is a collection of numerous small and medium-sized enterprises. The bulk of them are the smallest enterprises (microenterprises) with no more than 20 employees.

Small enterprises in developed countries are effective as producers of individual components and small mechanisms, semi-finished products and other elements necessary for the production of final products, the production of which is unprofitable for large enterprises.

USA. In the US market economy, small business today is the “cornerstone of development” and the “locomotive” of all those economic processes that occur in the economy today and the basis for its sustainable development.

To better understand the role of MP for the USA, we present the following data: in the USA in 1986-1990. small firms produced more than 40% of the gross national product and half of the gross private sector product. In certain areas of the economy, small businesses dominate. Their share of wholesale trade accounts for 86% of the gross product of the private sector, in the service sector - 81%, in construction - 80%, in the financial sector - 60%, in retail trade - 55%, in the manufacturing industry - 21%. Small businesses play a particularly important role in solving employment problems: in the 1980s, 80% of all new jobs were created by small firms. More than 100 million Americans earn their livelihood directly or indirectly from small businesses.

Let us give, for example, the classification of industries in the United States using the following indicators: the density of employees in individual industries, as well as the total number of private enterprises and their distribution by industry (Table 20).

Table 20

Industry classification in the USA (1986-1987)

Industry	Contribution to national income	Employment	Private sector enterprises
billion USD dollars	%	thousand people	%	thousand	%
Agriculture, forestry					2.328
Extractive Industry
Construction
Manufacturing industry
Wholesale and retail trade
Finance, real estate
Transport, communications
Services
Government sector
Foreign
Total

These enterprises employ half of all those employed in the private sector. They ensure the creation and development of about half of all innovations in the US economy related to scientific and technological progress. At the same time, on average, they introduce 17 times more innovations per dollar of expenditure than large enterprises.

In the United States, family and home-based small businesses are increasingly developing. According to New York-based research firm Link re Sources, in 1993, 39 million people in the United States worked fully or partially from home, including 6 million after full-time work.

Economic policy in the field of small business is determined in the annual report of the President of the United States. It is presented in three sections: political, economic, social. The political part constitutes the main content of the report: government regulation, local legislation, scientific, technical and innovative activities, volumes of completed government orders, trends in financing. The idea of the report: “The government has done everything to ensure that the small business develops freely and stably.”

The main indicators that determine state policy in the field of small business are: the creation of new jobs (the small business generates up to 70-80% of places), competition, economic recovery.

The level of MP determines such federal measures as establishing a minimum wage, safety requirements, environmental protection, because The minimum wage is mainly found either in small businesses or in large service companies (hotels, hospitals).

China. Small and medium-sized businesses have developed rapidly in China over the years of reform and opening up and continue to develop at a steady pace.

The SME sector accounts for 65% of patents, 75% of technical innovations and more than 80% of new products in China. It accounts for 50.2% of tax revenues of the entire country. In 2006, tax revenues from private enterprises increased by 28.6%. The volume of tax revenues from individual entrepreneurs increased by 18.6%.

At the same time, almost 99% of enterprises fall into the category of small enterprises with up to 100 employees, and only 0.6% belong to medium-sized enterprises with between 101 and 999 employees. At the end of 2006, there were at least 42 million medium and small enterprises in China; they create up to 75% of jobs in cities and towns (Table 21).

Table 21

Level of development of small businesses in Russia and China

The contribution of the small and medium sector to China's GDP was 40%. This sector has become an important factor in the Chinese economy, stimulating the growth of GDP, budget revenues, employment, and also ensuring the stability of society.

Small businesses are increasingly becoming the engine of innovative development of the Chinese economy. These enterprises produce an increasing share of innovative products and produce a large number of technical inventions. The bulk of China's exports are also produced by small and medium-sized enterprises.

In China, small and medium-sized enterprises are considered the most important source of economic growth in the country, which creates the bulk of goods and effectively solves the problem of employment. The small business sector has become an integral part of the Chinese economy, which creates competitive innovative products and technologies, exporting them to many countries around the world.

The state actively supports small and medium-sized businesses; for this purpose, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) has been created in China, which creates the conditions for the development of small and medium-sized businesses.

Only new and relevant small business ideas in 2016, which everyone can use. By borrowing ideas and inventing their own, Russian entrepreneurs earn from 100 thousand rubles. per month!

Looking for business ideas from competitors and creating the best solutions based on them is an effective strategy that can lead to success. This idea was expressed in an interview with Forbes magazine by Evgeny Tsaplin, a teacher at the Higher School of Economics and the general director of JSC Telecom-Project. You can’t argue with a successful entrepreneur, and therefore we bring to the attention of aspiring entrepreneurs the best business ideas of 2016 that have been successfully implemented in Russia and really work.

Over the mountains, through the forests...

To start a franchise business you will need 350 thousand rubles. and your own freight transport (at first you can rent it). An advantage of working in the SDEK team is active cooperation with China, a potential leader in global trade via the Internet: there are 10 company offices in the border provinces of the DPRK.

Bird's-eye

Starting investments - from 250 to 450 thousand rubles. (quadcopter price). Operating a business requires aircraft certification and pilots with airworthiness certificates. The average cost of a 3-minute video is 120 thousand rubles, of which 25% is the pilot’s income. Among the clients of the High Level agency are Moskomsport, Porsche, and the Holi festival of colors.

Coffee on wheels

The initial investment amounted to 2 million rubles. With this money, in 2014, entrepreneurs purchased a 25-year-old GMC van, converted it and decorated it in a unique style. At first, they wanted to use the car as a catering outlet, but shopping centers were reluctant to make contact, and entrepreneurs moved into the catering industry. In 2016, the profit from the sale of coffee was 300 thousand rubles per month, and businessmen repaid half of the loan taken to open their business. Selling coffee from cars is a free niche in which you should try yourself!

New format car wash

The advantages of such a car wash are obvious: minimum costs (it is enough to purchase employee uniforms, cleaning products, order advertising) and the ability to install service points in the busiest places (in parking lots, near shopping and office centers). The initial investment does not exceed 200 - 300 thousand rubles, the payback period, according to the owners, is 6 - 8 months.

Electronic pleasures

You can locate a point selling electronic cigarettes anywhere: in a shopping center, a street pavilion. It is important to choose a busy public place with high traffic. The best option is a pavilion in the lobby of a shopping center or cinema.

Making money on virtual reality

The average cost of equipment is 300 - 400 thousand rubles. (it can also be bought secondhand). To this amount add rent, as well as energy costs. The initial investment is not small, but the attraction will pay for itself in just 4 to 8 months. Another way to make money on virtual reality is by renting out equipment for entertainment events, children's parties, etc.

Back to the roots

One of the most successful commercial enterprises is the St. Petersburg publishing house of bibliophile books. The manual publishing of second-hand books has been revived in St. Petersburg. The entire production process is manual. For printing, they use ancient letters, reglets, and emphases. Calligraphy artists create unique handwritten editions. Covers are made from genuine leather, copper, bronze, papyrus, etc. The period for publishing one book can reach 15 years, and the cost of such creations starts from 500 thousand rubles. Among the publishing house’s regular clients are Konstantin Ernst, Roman Abramovich, and successful foreign entrepreneurs.

In 2016, various products of Russian artisans were in high demand among foreigners: knitted porcelain, tiles for stoves and fireplaces, crystal tableware and decor - all this is in demand abroad and brings revenue of up to 100 million rubles to owners of manufacturing businesses. annually.