This article explores the development of small and medium-sized businesses and the factors that influence this process in the case of Germany, China, Japan, USA and Uzbekistan. Several distinguishing features have also been considered, as well as an analysis of the main indicators of the effectiveness of business development. The share of the small and medium-sized business sector in the country's GDP, the number of enterprises in this area and the share of the population occupied in small and medium-sized enterprises were taken into account. Data has been analyzed on how to reform entrepreneurship, stabilize it further, how much the growth of private enterprises and the potential of small businesses is currently rising.