The shifting landscape of entrepreneurship in the U.S. has budged to include Latinos as key entrepreneurial leaders.

Small businesses don't generate as much wealth as large corporations, but they are critical contributors to local economies, providing services and goods, employment opportunities and community-focused agenda.

Furthermore, financial institutions bank on the growth of small business, with minority and Hispanic-owned firms at the center of U.S. economic expansion because they are more likely to take advantage of banking services, according to a 2014 report from the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. Small businesses also offer a great deal to the overall workforce.

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) indicated that small business makes up 99.7 percent of U.S. employer firms, 64 percent of net new private-sector jobs, 49 percent of private-sector employment, 43 percent of high-tech employment, 98 percent of firms exporting goods and 33 percent of firms exporting value.

Hispanic-owned businesses and entrepreneurs in the U.S. grew considerably over the past decade, despite the recession. Hispanics continued to show higher rates of self-employment than the general population. According to early projected numbers featured in a report published by Geoscape in 2014, Hispanic-owned businesses were expected to grow more than 3.22 million, a staggering increase of 43 percent since 2007. Also, Hispanic-owned businesses generated more than $358 billion in 2007 and projected to reach $486 billion in revenue in 2014.

Since 2014, 20.4 percent of new entrepreneurs were Latinos, compared to 16 percent a decade ago. As Hispanic business owners grow, the number of information and resources has increased, which encourages business growth and economic stimulus.

In terms of employment growth, social media helps small businesses find their talent. Seventy-three percent of millennials found their last job through social media and 94 percent use or plan to use social media for recruiting. Also, employers who used social media to hire employees found a 49 percent improvement in candidate quality over candidates sourced only through traditional recruiting channels.

According to Score.org, small business employees are generally happier employees. Eighty-one percent of small business employees are satisfied with their jobs, compared to 68 percent of overall full-time U.S. workers. They're also more satisfied with job security (62 percent vs. 51 percent), advancement (46 percent vs. 35 percent), likely retirement age (40 percent vs. 31 percent), medical benefits (47 percent vs. 46 percent) and annual income (52 percent vs. 50 percent). However, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average hourly wage at establishments with between 1 and 49 employees was only 62.2 percent of that at establishments with at least 500 workers in 2014.

When it comes to Hispanic business owners, they are 82 percent more likely than Hispanics overall to earn between $100,000 and $149,999, and nearly three times as likely to earn in excess of $150,000.

To learn more about small business, visit Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs), which provides assistance to small businesses and aspiring entrepreneurs throughout the United States.

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