Ventress Enterprises

The State of the Entrepreneur

This following clip is from an interview with Carl Shramm, CEO of The Kaufman Foundation, in which they are discussing the results of a recent poll done by The Kaufman Foundation of entrepreneurs. 

The poll of entrepreneurs states that:

• 61% say the economy is on the wrong track
• Over 70% do not expect to create new jobs in 2010
• 85% think the U.S. is a great country in which to start a business

Right away they discuss the obvious contradiction made by these statistics that even though entrepreneurs believe the economy is on the wrong track and do not expect to create new jobs that it is a great country in which to start a business.  I find this to be very interesting due to the nature of the questions themselves.  When reading a poll like this, you have to ask yourself why.  Why is it that these entrepreneurs answered the way they did?

Let’s look at the subject matter.  The first two questions are about the economy and creating new jobs. What is the guiding force that drives the answers to these questions?  The answer is money.  More specifically, growth and income.  Now that we’ve revealed the basis of these answers, not only does the media remind us daily of the poor state of the economy, but more importantly, it is reflected in our cash flow reports and profit and loss statements.  Also, when growth is rare and flat or falling sales is reported as the status quo, it’s no wonder over 70% of entrepreneurs polled are not planning on creating new jobs. 

But we have to remember that we, as entrepreneurs of small and new businesses are the life blood of our economy. It is up to us to raise the bar and bring growth back into the market. We’ve realized our potential, it’s right there in the poll, “85% of entrepreneurs think that the United States is a great country in which to start a business”.

There you have it.  A large majority of entrepreneurs have their heads in the right place, we believe this market can provide the growth and profitability needed by new companies.  We, as business owners, need to be diligent and stay informed so that we can learn from the failed businesses across the U.S. and use proven business practices, solid business planning, refined financial management, marketing development and strategic planning mixed with our knowledge and unique outlook to grow and strengthen our businesses and the economy as a whole along with it.

Carl Schramm says during this interview that, “Overall…we’re not seeing robust recovery [but] entrepreneurs are the key to [recovery] they are the people who create the jobs”.  He also states that, “In the past seven recessions and recoveries that we’ve seen, it has been … the expansion of employment in brand new businesses. Businesses that are less than five years old, that have been critical in the recovery and the expansion [of the economy]“.

Remember looking at the facts can remind us of the huge potential for your business:

• Up to 80% of new hires come from small and new businesses
• Nearly all net job creation in the U.S. comes from firms less than 5 years old
• 50% of Fortune 500 companies were founded in a recession or bear market
• 600,00 new firms form in the U.S. every year; even during recessions

Read Carl Schramm’s entire State of the Entrepreneur Address and poll results here.

Tags: article, business, ideas, jobs, small business