Governor Gavin Newsom has issued a proclamationdeclaring May 2019 as “Small Business Month” in California. Now the world’s fifth largest economy, California has more than 3.9 million small businesses, more than 40 percent of which are minority-owned.

California’s small businesses represent more than 99 percent of total businesses in the state and employ 7 million people – nearly half of California’s private workforce. The 70,350 small firms that export goods from California generated 43 percent of the state’s $152 billion in total exports. By declaring Small Business Month, the Governor affirms his ongoing commitment to help California’s small businesses thrive.