Annual Survey of Entrepreneurs (ASE):
An Overview
Erika Becker-Medina Supervisory Statistician/Branch Chief Data User Outreach & Education Economy-Wide Statistics Division
ASE Overview New mandatory survey that supplements the 5-year
Survey of Business Owners (SBO)
Joint effort between the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation (Kauffman), the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) and the U.S. Census Bureau for reference years 2014, 2015, and 2016
Collects business and business owner characteristics by economic sector, gender, ethnicity, race, and veteran status annually
ASE Overview (cont.) Produces annual estimates on firms, receipts, payroll,
and employment by sector, gender, ethnicity, race, and veteran status
New data table (not previously released in the SBO):
Years in Business
Introduces a new module each survey year to measure relevant business components:
2014 module data is scheduled for release tomorrow!
Data will include business innovation and R&D activities
ASE Tables
Statistics for U.S. Employer Firms by Sector, Gender, Ethnicity, Race, and Veteran Status
All data for the U.S., States, and Top 50 MSAs:
Firms, receipts, payroll, and employment (table ID: SE1400CSA01)
Years in business (table ID: SE1400CSA02)
Receipts size of firm (table ID: SE1400CSA03)
Employment size of firm (table ID: SE1400CSA04)
ASE Sample Frame
Conducted on a company or firm basis
Samples approximately 290,000 employer businesses
Includes all nonfarm businesses filing IRS employer tax forms
Covers 20 economic industries, based on the North American Industry Classification System known as NAICS (some exclusions)
ASE Data Uses and Users
Similar uses as the Survey of Business Owners (SBO)
New uses/users for the enhanced ASE content Researchers and businesses to understand the innovation
and research and development activities conducted by entrepreneurs.
Researchers and businesses to understand the record-keeping and management practices implemented by entrepreneurs.
Data users to understand time-series data in certain industries for entrepreneurs.
Business owners or perspective business owners to gain knowledge about the funding of businesses.
Business Ownership
Business ownership is defined as having 51 percent or more of the stock or equity in the business
Categorized by:
All firms classifiable by gender, ethnicity, race, and veteran status
ASE Classifications
All firms
All firms classifiable by gender, ethnicity, race, and veteran status
Publicly held and other firms not classifiable by gender, ethnicity, race, and veteran status
ASE Classifications (cont.)
Gender: Female-owned
Male-owned
Equally male-/female-owned
Ethnicity Hispanic
Equally Hispanic/non-Hispanic
Non-Hispanic
ASE Classifications (cont.)
Race White
Black or African American
American Indian and Alaska Native Asian
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander
Some other race
Minority
Equally minority/nonminority
Nonminority
ASE Classifications (cont.)
Veteran status
Veteran-owned
Equally veteran-/nonveteran-owned
Nonveteran-owned
ASE Table 1: Statistics for U.S. Employer
Firms by Sector, Gender, Ethnicity, Race, and
Veteran Status Number of firms with paid employees Sales, receipts, or value of shipments of firms with
paid employees Number of paid employees for pay period including
March 12 Annual payroll Relative Standard Error for each variable
ASE Table 2: Statistics for U.S. Employer
Firms by Sector, Gender, Ethnicity, Race,
Veteran Status, and Years in Business
Firms with less than 2 years in business Firms with 2 to 3 years in business Firms with 4 to 5 years in business Firms with 6 to 10 years in business Firms with 11 to 15 years in business Firms with 16 or more years in business
ASE Table 3: Statistics for U.S. Employer
Firms by Sector, Gender, Ethnicity, Race,
Veteran Status, and Receipts Size of Firm
Firms with sales/receipts of less than $10,000 Firms with sales/receipts of $10,000 to $49,999 Firms with sales/receipts of $50,000 to $99,999 Firms with sales/receipts of $100,000 to $249,999 Firms with sales/receipts of $250,000 to $499,999 Firms with sales/receipts of $500,000 to $999,999 Firms with sales/receipts of $1,000,000 or more
ASE Table 4: Statistics for U.S. Employer
Firms by Sector, Gender, Ethnicity, Race,
Veteran Status, and Employment Size of Firm
Firms with no employees Firms with 1 to 4 employees Firms with 5 to 9 employees Firms with 10 to 19 employees Firms with 20 to 49 employees Firms with 50 to 99 employees Firms with 100 to 249 employees Firms with 250 to 499 employees Firms with 500 employees or more
ASE Module Content
Implements a key National Academies recommendation for improving measurement of business dynamics in the US economy
Flexible modular design that allows content to change over time
Collaboration with other agencies and organizations on relevant content for a given survey year
2014 ASE Module (Innovation and R&D) Focuses on businesses’ Innovation and Research &
Development Activity Goals of 2014 module
Identify new forms of innovation Identify characteristics of businesses that are innovators Measure R&D activity conducted by entrepreneurs
Eight questions based on the Microbusiness Innovation Science and Technology Survey (MIST) conducted by NSF’s National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES) Collaborated with Kauffman and NCSES to draft, test, and finalize
module questions Asks questions about process and product innovation, R&D costs,
funding, purchases, and employees
2015 ASE Module (Management Practices)
Focuses on businesses’ management practices Goal to measure how management practices impact
productivity and growth Ten questions developed in collaboration with
Kauffman and the Census Bureau’s Labor Management researchers Six questions are based on the Management and
Organizational Practices Survey (MOPS) conducted by the Census Bureau
Asks questions about the use of targets and key performance indicators, record-keeping, and personnel practices
2016 ASE Module (Business Advice and Planning)
2016 will be fielded next summer
Asks questions about type of advice sought by the owners, who the business sought advice from, and the impact the advice had on business outcomes
Additionally, questions were added to asks about how regulations impact the business and more questions on the owner education level (field of degree)
20
SBO/ASE Content Summary Questions – New items in Italics
Ownership Information Owner Specific Acquiring the business Responsibilities Demographics of Owner Reasons for owning the business Business Specific Family owned Aspirations Owner funding Year established Franchise Capital funding Sources and challenges for funding Profitability Negative impacts on profitability Types of customers Customer location Global presence and outsourcing Language Workers (types of workers, benefits provided) Digital presence (website, e-commerce) Home operation Intellectual property Business activity over the calendar year Current operating status If ceased operation, reason Research and Development Module Product innovation over the last three years Process innovation over the last year years R&D activities Total R&D cost Purchased R&D costs Business R&D costs Funding sources for R&D activities Number of R&D employees
Need More ASE Info?
Visit website: www.census.gov/econ/ase
Download ASE SSRN research paper: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2689868
Background on ASE
2014 ASE Worksheet
2015 ASE Module concept
Need More SBO Info?
Visit website:
www.census.gov/econ/sbo
2012 SBO Data on American FactFinder:
http://factfinder.census.gov/
SBO News Links http://blogs.census.gov/2016/02/26/women-are-leading-the-rise-of-black-owned-businesses/
http://www.insidenova.com/news/business/fairfax/fairfax-touts-diversity-of-its-business-base-aims-for-more/article_d6b7e2e2-dbde-11e5-9d19-2fa7ab8f1aa4.html
http://www.fredericknewspost.com/news/economy_and_business/number-of-minority-owned-businesses-on-the-rise-in-frederick/article_4f05413b-b250-52f0-af28-c36d472df660.html
http://www.naplesnews.com/business/local/hispanic-business-owners-on-the-rise-in-southwest-florida-2ae737e3-3724-05e0-e053-0100007f4e4d-369589091.html
https://www.nwbc.gov/facts
http://www.mbda.gov/blogger/mbda-agency/annual-updates-survey-business-owners-horizon