by Christina Lee on June 16th, 2009
A note to hope to budding entrepreneurs – a study released last week found that more than half of Fortune 500 companies had been founded in a recession or bear market.
The Kauffman Foundation cross-examined data from the U.S. Census Bureau, Fortune 500, and Inc. magazine to figure out how recessions affected new firm formations.
The study found that in general, bad economic times for the nation may not always impact entrepreneurship in the same way. After all, an individual may feel more apt to start a business once laid off, while entrepreneurs could target the newly unemployed as potential... Read more »
by Christina Lee on December 12th, 2008
A collective analysis of studies released this week paint a revealing, evocative portrait of the nation’s economic environment. As prices drop, spending drops even further, as an opaque cloud of consumer pessimism remains hovering over the nation. But below, amongst all of the downward activity, researchers are searching for that cloud’s silver lining.
On the Ground Below
The Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Retail Federation, and Census Bureau released reports indicating that wholesalers and retailers are still adjusting to the economic climate, as price indexes continued to fall:
Retail container traffic fell in November for the 16th month in a... Read more »
by Christina Lee on November 21st, 2008
A recent study has led researchers to suggest that economic decline negatively affected U.S. entrepreneurship, after it revealed significant declines over the past three years.
Furthermore, they say that the emergence of start-up businesses could jump-start an economic upturn as they create jobs nationwide – that is, if such businesses strive for innovation, rather than mere economic survival.
The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, an international research firm, found that more than 61 percent of businesses in 2007 were start-ups – an 8.6 percent decline from 2006, and a nearly 10 percent decline from 2005. It attributes such a drop to the... Read more »
by Carrie Hinkel on January 24th, 2008
Most Americans, at one time or another, have dreamed about quitting their job and starting their own business. But why don’t more people turn their entrepreneurial dreams to reality? For many, it’s their own fears that are holding them back. Here’s a list of some of the most common reasons why people are afraid to start a business – as well as some tips for conquering those fears.
Fear of failure – This is, by far, the number one fear that keeps people from starting their own business. No one likes feeling like a failure and even just the thought... Read more »