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HomeSmall BusinessGetting StartedBackground

                        - DLA Small Business
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# Background on DLA Small Business

There is a close relationship between the economy and small businesses. Small businesses continue to be incubators for innovation and employment growth. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy, small businesses make up more than 99.7% of firms with paid employees, account for 62.7% of net new job creation since 1995, small businesses created 17.3M net new jobs while large businesses created 10.3M from 1995 to 2021 (see Figure 2).

As you can see by the statistics, small businesses continue to play a vital role in the economy of the United States.

**Find more statistics on the SBA's Office of Advocacy website **. **

## What is a Small Business?

To be a small business, vendors must adhere to industry **size standards **** established by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). When small firms register as a government contractor in the System for Award Management, they also self-certify their business as small.The SBA, for most industries, defines a "small business" either in terms of the average number of employees over the past 12 months, or average annual receipts over the past three years. In addition, SBA defines a U.S. small business as a concern that:

                              - Is organized for profit
                              - Has a place of business in the U.S.
                              - Operates primarily within the U.S. or makes a significant contribution to the U.S. economy  through payment of taxes or use of American products, materials or labor
                              - Is independently owned and operated and is not dominant in its field on a national basis

The business may be a sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation, or any other legal form. In determining what constitutes a small business, the definition will vary to reflect industry differences - especially size standards.The**SBA's table of size standards **** corresponds to the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS). All federal agencies must use **SBA size standards **** for small business contracting.  Vendors should select **NAICS codes **** that best match their business activities and then determine if their business meets the size standards for the selected NAICS codes. Vendors can use the **SBA's Size Standards Tool **** to determine if they qualify as a small business.For federal government procurements, vendors must meet the small business size standard that corresponds to the NAICS code selected by the contracting officer for that contract. The selected contract NAICS code is not required to match up to a vendor's principal activity NAICS code. The vendor qualifies as a small business as long as it meets the size standard for the procurement.**Small Business Size Regulations are in Title 13 of the Code of Federal Regulations, part 121(13 CFR §121) **. **The **SBA Office of Government Contracting **** makes formal "size determinations" that decide if a business qualifies as an eligible small business for SBA programs. 

## Performance Goals

The DLA Small Business Programs Performance Goals are assigned to DLA by the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) Office of Small Business Programs (OSBP).

*SDB awards include 8(a) awards.

Visit the **OSD OSBP website **** to view the Department's goals and performance.

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