By any measure, small businesses are critical to the economic well-being of Wyoming. They create new businesses (and the new jobs that go with them); bring new and innovative services and products to the marketplace; and provide business ownership opportunities to diverse (and traditionally under represented) groups. Not only do small businesses play a critical role by efficiently reallocating the state's resources and injecting new ideas into the economy with business starts and stops, but their diversity and composition provide the work force with many opportunities.