At the moment there are around 28 million small businesses operating in America. Of which, over 22 million are being operated on a self-employed or non-employer basis with no additional workforce being hired to them. On the other hand, of these businesses, the ones that do hire personnel contribute to employing over 50% of the country’s working population. These statistics are enough evidence to the fact that the significance of SMEs to the US economy is paramount and cannot be overlooked.

DesignMantic is one such tool that has been created, especially, to cater to these Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) by helping them create quick logos and business card designs for their businesses with utmost ease. The tool allows users to create logos and business cards as quickly as within five minutes and, that too, for the lowest of prices. DesignMantic has taken upon the task to feature and celebrate the success of the entrepreneurs that such SMEs are brainchild to by giving weekly shout-outs and some link love to them!

Below, we have shortlisted a few of such SME owners who have had the honor of making it to our, “Entrepreneur of the Week” segment in 2014. Read up on these amazing personalities for we can all learn a thing or two from them and follow their advice on business survival, growth and success…

1. Vicky Lloyd:

This brilliant lady is a crafting junkie and a motivational speaker. She is the proud owner of NEDAY crafts— an award winning SME— and loves to offer consultancy services alongside. She also loves to write, mentor and give talks on creativity that everyone loves! Preach Vicky, PREACH!

2. Steve Gutzler:

Meet, Steve Gutzler! He is a respected motivational speaker and thought leader. His listeners love to seek his advice on matters pertaining to leadership, emotional intelligence and personal transformation. He too, loves to preach what he knows!

3. Joshua Steimle:

Joshua Steimle is a contributor at Forbes and Fast Company. He also speaks at TEDX and is the chief at MWI, which is a digital media marketing agency, inclined towards developing result oriented solutions.

4. James Arthur Ray:

James Arthur Ray has a passion for writing and literature. He is a New York Times bestselling author who rose to fame for his book, Harmonic Wealth— a book about learning to live the life you want. Also, James Arthur Ray was one of the inductees in 2009 for Inc 500.

5. Christine Monaghan:

Christine Monaghan is a small business enthusiast and evangelist. Her passion for mentoring and offering consultation to the SMEs lead her to becoming the founder and CEO at the Entrepreneur Lifestyle Network. A network that allows entrepreneurs to develop concrete programs and tools to fuel and inspire young businesses.

6. Barbara E. Smith:

Barbra E. Smith is a small business influencer. She also has a passion for tourism and she loves to mentor entrepreneurs with the help of her wisdom and experience on small businesses. She is a keen learner and enjoys keeping pace with the ever changing dynamics of small business and media networking.

7. Oli Gardner:

Oli Gardner is the co-founder and CEO at Lemon Stand which is an e-commerce platform that allows the online retailers to grow and develop. He is also passionate about mentoring SMEs and bringing together design, tech and business.

8. Rocco Baldassarre:

Rocco is the founder and CEO of Zebra Advertisement and a Search Engine Marketing junkie. He is passionate about helping the businesses that spend up to US$5 million on PPC advertisement per day. He advises and guides such businesses as per his knowledge and experience on matters pertaining to advertisement and marketing.

9. Jonathan Fields:

Jonathan Fields is a maker and an entrepreneur who is driven by possibility and his love for dark chocolate. He is the founder of Gold Life Project which is a global movement that inspires, educates, supports and connect mission driven individuals to live better and stay motivated.

10. Austin Hill:

Austin Hill is an investor, venture capitalist, a TED speaker and a cancer researcher. He leads the project, “The Blockstream” which is about believing in the potential of bitcoin and blockchain technology in order to encourage a significant, positive social impact.

Follow these 10 amazing, mission driven entrepreneurs who put their expertise and passion together to fortify the US economy and contribute to the national security and welfare. Let us know if you wish to nominate someone, or even yourself, to see as our next, “Entrepreneur of the Week” by dropping in names in the comment box below.