by Daria Steigman on January 11, 2010
A new Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) report surveys the entrepreneurial lifecycle in the United States. Drawing on 2008 data, What Entrepreneurs Are Up To looks at who starts a business and why, how start-ups begin, and the impact of public policy. There is also a chapter comparing the activity, attitudes, and aspirations of U.S. entrepreneurs with their counterparts in other countries.
A few key findings:
- Opportunity, not necessity, is a prime driver—especially for men. The survey found that only 5 percent of men start businesses out of necessity; for women, that number climbs to 21 percent.
- Entrepreneurs are skewing older, with an 8-9 percent increase in entrepreneurial activity among people 45 and older (and a commensurate drop in entrepreneurial activity among those 18-44).
- Men have far better access to capital. GEM found that “women start ventures with eight-times less funding than their male counterparts.”
- Men typically start “business-service businesses”; women, consumer-oriented businesses.
- African-Americans have the highest level of start-up activity (13.9 percent versus 8.4 percent for whites and 8.6 percent for non-Mexican Hispanics).
- Social entrepreneurship is being largely driven by women, and is focused in the areas of health care, education, urban development, and the environment.
The report is packed with data, and I’ve just scratched the surface here.
Tagged as:
Entrepreneurship
by Daria Steigman on November 30, 2009
My first podcast is out!
I was interviewed by IABC’s Natasha Nicholson for CW Radio, and the topic is lessons learned in 20 years of business. The premise: the fundamentals of running a business haven’t changed in the last 20 years, but pretty much everything else has.
The 12-minute podcast looks at:
- how I got started
- how technology has changed business
- what the current economic climate means for small business
- tips for starting up
Take a listen, and then come back and let me know what you think.
Note: I’m trying to get the podcast uploaded to this post; hopefully I’ll be able to quickly sort out a file size limitations issue.
Tagged as:
Business,
CW Radio,
Entrepreneurship,
IABC,
Natasha Nicholson,
podcast
by Daria Steigman on November 25, 2009
As if I didn’t have enough to read already, I’ve added a few new blogs into my Google Reader recently. Mostly focused on business and technology, but also one great new find on entrepreneurship.
If you haven’t bookmarked (or subscribed to) the Policy Dialogue on Entrepreneurship, here are three reasons to check it out:
- The focus is global. While much of what I read is looking at U.S. policies and activities, this blog covers the world. So recent posts have featured stats from the OECD and developments in Egypt, the Middle East, and Eastern Europe.
- A solid foundation is key. While there is always a temptation to jump right into how to do something, having the right policies in place to foster innovation matters. This blog focuses on the policy side. Not always fun, but fundamentally important.
- The authors are smart, and they write well. Talking about why Global Entrepreneurship Week matters, they write: It’s not just a collection of concurrent networking, ideas competitions, and mentoring events designed to spur young people to consider entrepreneurship. It’s also affirmation that upstream there is a larger pool of innovative entrepreneurs about to enter the world stage just when they’re needed most.
This is good stuff.
Tagged as:
Entrepreneur,
Entrepreneurship,
Global Entrepreneurship Week,
Innovation,
OECD
by Daria Steigman on July 21, 2009
We all know the U.S. economy is entering a jobless recovery, which is really a sanitized way of saying that if you’re unemployed you can expect more of the same. We clearly need a jobs creation strategy, and fast.
So where will the jobs come from? If history is a guide, the answer is entrepreneurs. According to David Gray, director of the Workforce and Family program at the New America Foundation, entrepreneurs and small businesses account for 75 percent of all new jobs. Gray moderated a terrific program yesterday that looked at what needs to happen to pave the way for new opportunities for America’s entrepreneurs.
My key takeaways:
- The Kauffman Foundation’s Robert Litan pointed out that big firms don’t want to obsolesce what they’re making money on. As a result, all the sexy stuff is created by entrepreneurs.
- Litan cited a study of Fortune 500 firms that found that one-half of them were formed during a recession or a bear market.
- Don’t equate entrepreneurship with venture capital. Litan said that only 16 percent of the fastest growing companies were financed by venture capital.
- Health care is a major barrier to entrepreneurship because people can’t leave their jobs.
- Paul Glastris, editor-in-chief of the Washington Monthly, said that America needs to put “an entrepreneurship lens” around many of the policies being discussed.
- We need to invest in broadband, health information technology, and a smart grid. Glastris said investment in these platforms is key to the ability of the U.S. to create cutting-edge, high-wage jobs.
- Think U.S. broadband is fast? Australia’s broadband system is 4x faster; France’s is 9x faster, and Japan’s is 21x faster.
- So what might these platforms look like? Mariah Blake, an editor at the Washington Monthly, talked about the need to turn the electric grid into a vibrant, interactive network.
- Consider our grid today: There are no tools to manage the flow of electricity or to diagnose problems.
- A smart grid would allow consumers and companies to manage their electricity usage on a micro-level. Blake said that this could spur innovation in dozens of industries. Why? Because consumers will have access to information about their usage, and entrepreneurs will be open to creating all kinds of software and services to help people use energy more efficiently.
- Blake compared the smart grid to the iPhone Store. Apple owns the store, but it’s open in a way that allows for phenomenal innovation.
My final takeaway came via a question from a participant who said that entrepreneurs typically create things you never thought you needed. But here we know what we need. Litan suggested that we had the broad outline, the platform, but we still can’t see the applications.
That’s where entrepreneurs come in.
Tagged as:
broadband,
Entrepreneurship,
health IT,
Kauffman Foundation,
New America Foundation,
smart grid,
Washington Monthly
by Daria Steigman on July 9, 2009
Insomnia can make you a little crazy. If you’re prone to it, then you know that there’s nothing quite like flipping channels at 2:45 a.m. and discovering that your best options may be a slasher movie or the 20th iteration of LockUp Raw.
So I thought I’d found nirvana when I happened upon a 2005 episode of The Apprentice:UK. British entrepreneur Sir Alan Sugar was grilling the hapless four remaining contestants. He was particularly puzzled by one guy, who claimed to be a rather successful real estate entrepreneur but was ready to put it all on hold to be The Apprentice. After all, most entrepreneurs will do almost anything to avoid going back to work for someone else.
That’s when it happened: the guy said he was different. Sir Alan agreed–and fired him. Seemed a “duh” moment to me.
What do you think? Can you truly be an entrepreneur if you’re fine dropping everything to go to work for someone else?
Tagged as:
Alan Sugar,
Entrepreneur,
Entrepreneurship,
insomnia,
LockUp Raw,
The Apprentice: UK
A new Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) report surveys the entrepreneurial lifecycle in the United States. Drawing on 2008 data, What Entrepreneurs Are Up To looks at who starts a business and why, how start-ups begin, and the impact of public policy. There is also a chapter comparing the activity, attitudes, and aspirations of U.S. entrepreneurs with their counterparts in other countries.