Decades ago, starting a small business was a popular thing to do. In 1977, for example, 16.5 percent of businesses were under one year old. In 2011, only half that number (8.2 percent) of businesses were under one year old.

And, of course, every large business started out as a small business. While many small businesses don't become extremely large, some do. According to Clifton, here is the breakdown of employment:

- 5-9 employees: 1,000,000 businesses

- 10-19 employees: 600,000 businesses

- 20-99 employees: 500,000 businesses

- 100-499 employees: 90,000 businesses

- 500-9,999 employees: 17,000 businesses

- 10,000+ employees: 1,000 businesses

Research conducted by Gallup into the drivers of entrepreneurship has been able to provide an explanation for the continuing decline in the number of new businesses being started and the continuing increase in the number of existing businesses dying. That crucial factor, according to Gallup, is the decline in the personal savings rate. Securing adequate financing is vital for existing business owners, as well as for new entrepreneurs seeking to open businesses, and that financing comes predominantly from personal savings.

In addition, the availability of personal savings also directly affects business owners' ability to secure and sustain loans and lines of credit. That is, those wanting to start or continue a small business, but who have little or no personal savings, are less likely to be able to provide collateral and/or convince banks that they can take on extra loan payments.

U.S. Census Bureau data shows that, while the personal savings rate was 13 percent in 1973, it dropped to less than half of that (six percent) by 2011 (the latest year available).

When Gallup first asked entrepreneurs about their sources of startup funding in 2006, 73 percent of them mentioned personal savings as a source, while 37 percent cited a loan or line of credit as the next most common source. (Numbers could total more than 100 percent, since respondents could report two or more sources.)

Savings, loans, and lines of credit have become even more important to business owners and startups since 2006. When Gallup asked this same question in 2014, 77 percent of respondents cited personal savings as a source of start-up funding, and 41 percent cited a loan or line of credit as the next most common source. And, as noted earlier, the number of new businesses being launched decreased consistently over that time period.

A September 17, 2014 Washington Post article suggested one of the reasons that personal savings may be decreasing. That reason is the increasing cost of education, which has been leading to mounting levels of student debt that are facing college graduates who would like to start their own businesses, but who have more debt than savings.

The Washington Post article cited another threat to new business births - that being that the federal government's "current maze of outdated and often contradictory regulations has become enormously detrimental to entrepreneurs." The article added, "The stifling effect of regulatory burden, complexity, and uncertainty is particularly acute for new businesses, because they lack the resources and scale of larger firms over which to absorb and amortize the costs of compliance."