April 2005
A New Look at Entrepreneurial Opportunities
GEM Finds World's Entrepreneurs Fly Solo
By
President of Workforce Associates
and author of
NetWork: Maximizing Your Career Resources on the Internet
Available online and in print from Author House
It’s been eighteen months since we last took a look at entrepreneurial opportunities as an alternative to looking for traditional employment. Back in 2003, the climate was definitely cool about someone taking an idea and building a thriving business around it. Has much changed has that climate changed since the end of the recession? Let’s find out.
What are the latest studies saying?
According to the 2004 Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) report that was directed by Babson College and the London Business School, start-up activity is still strong in the 34 countries that were surveyed. According to GEM, approximately seventy-three million people are entrepreneurs. Most of them launch new ventures with only their own money, and they continue to run their businesses with their own savings or by tapping the assets of family and friends. After two years of decline, entrepreneurial activity in the United States increased from 10.5 percent in 2002 to 11.9 percent in 2003. The 2004 GEM reports for 34 countries around the world are available at http://www.gemconsortium.org. Also check out their study about women and entrepreneurism.
Endowed positions are to universities what medals are to countries in the Olympics – an easy metric for assessing achievement. If the growth in the number of endowed positions is any indication, the discipline of entrepreneurship in the United States is well positioned for a gold medal. The Kauffman Foundation, known for the breadth and depth of its support for entrepreneurial activity, surveyed institutions around the world. Their 2004 Survey of Endowed Positions in Entrepreneurship and Related Fields found that the number of chairs and professorships in entrepreneurship and related fields grew 71 percent, from 237 in 1999 to 406 in 2003. And the situation in the United States parallels the global situation, with 563 endowed positions around the world, up from 271 in 1999.
Princeton Review Identifies Top 25 Campuses for Entrepreneurship in 2004
The University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill received top honors as the most entrepreneurial campus in a Princeton Review survey of 357 schools and universities across the country. Why did UNC-Chapel Hill move to the top of the list? Like their Final Four basketball team, UNC’s entrepreneurship program has worked hard to develop a winning game plan. For example, the University now offers entrepreneurship as a major for its undergraduate business degree, and is developing several programs to help students launch their own careers as entrepreneurs.
With the exception of the Pacific Northwest, every section of the country was well represented among the remaining top 24 schools, in rank order:
2) University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana
3) Louisiana State University and A&M College in Baton Rouge
4) Northeastern University in Boston
5) Indiana University in Bloomington
6) Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh
7) Syracuse University
8) University of Arizona
9) University of Iowa
10) University of New Hampshire
11) Xavier University in Cincinnati
12) University of San Francisco
13) University of New Mexico
14) University of North Dakota
15) University of Dayton
16) Stanford University
17) Georgia Institute of Technology
18) Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, NJ
19.) Loyola Marymount University in West Los Angeles
20) Temple University in Philadelphia
21) University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
22) University of Missouri at Rolla
23) Drexel University in Philadelphia
24) Bradley University in Peoria, IL
25) Boston University
The full criteria, as stated by the Princeton Review, included the following considerations:
- How well does the university offer a specific four-year degree in entrepreneurship or entrepreneurial studies, or a concentration in entrepreneurship within the framework of an undergraduate business degree?
- Does the university have any alumni who are prominent entrepreneurs?
- Are there any prominent entrepreneurs on the university's undergraduate teaching faculty?
- Does the university have any officially recognized clubs or organizations specifically for entrepreneurial students?
- Does the university have any officially supported mentorship programs for entrepreneurial students?
- Are there any university-sponsored programs specifically designed to help students launch businesses?
- How much does the university participate in any experiential learning programs for entrepreneurs, like internships or work-study?
- Does the university have any official research grant relationships with corporations or government agencies?
- Does the university rank any of three disciplines identified as hotbeds for innovation and entrepreneurship--Engineering, Biological and Biomedical Science or Physical Science-- among its most popular majors?
- How many of the university's alumni rank on The Forbes 400 list of richest Americans?
More information, including a Web video "Universities for the Entrepreneurially Minded," is available at: http://www.forbes.com/entrepreneur
As we all know, entrepreneurs are a dynamic force that will dramatically shape America's 21st century economy. Yet, these small business people will face many challenges, some of which will require innovative public policy responses. These findings are published in a new report entitled Look at Entrepreneurship in the 21st Century that was released by the Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy following a conference co-sponsored by the Kauffman Foundation.
Download the Entrepreneurship in the 21st Century Conference Report:
www.sba.gov/advo/stats/proceedings_a.pdfDownload the Summaries of Presentations at the Conference:
www.sba.gov/advo/stats/proceedings_b.pdfA New Resource for Entrepreneurship Education in Community Colleges
The role that community colleges play in building tech economies has grown substantially during the past decade, beyond traditional incumbent worker training programs. A new compendium from the National Association for Community College Entrepreneurship (NACCE) provides several examples of efforts by its 14 member community colleges and technical schools to foster entrepreneurship. Highlighted programs include:
- Partnerships with K-12 education;
- Associate degree and certificate programs in entrepreneurship;
- Efforts cutting across the curriculum;
- A Web-based course;
- Student business incubation; and,
- Incubators or small business development centers.
Profiles of Programs in Entrepreneurship Education includes contact information for each of the 18 activities covered in the 81-page report: http://www.nacce.com/PDF/Profiles.pdf
New State Rankings for Entrepreneurship and Small Business
The Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council (SBEC), a lobbying and research group headquartered in Washington, D.C, has released its rankings of the states according to their public policy climates for small business and entrepreneurship in the Small Business Survival Index 2004.
"What the Small Business Survival Index seeks to expose," says an economist for SBEC, "is whether state and local governments turn out to be a plus or a minus when it comes to entrepreneurial decision-making." Curiously, several of the states noted for their energetic entrepreneurial climate rank low on the Index. For example, California is ranked 50th, just ahead of the District of Columbia — because over half of the indictors in the index are tax-related.
What are the newest Web sites and resources for entrepreneurism?
InnovationTools is a new Web site that provides entrepreneurs and innovators with resources on business innovation, creativity and brainstorming. The goal is to help businesses increase their capacity for innovation and change. The Web site divides into articles, creativity tools, and resources including research overviews, books, and newsletters. You can sign up for the free newsletter and view these extensive materials at http://www.innovationtools.com/
The Iowa Entrepreneur Network (IEN) provides Iowa entrepreneurs and investors with a virtual "community of practice" seeking to integrate entrepreneurial expertise and interests across the Hawkeye state. The goal is to create a critical mass of talent to accelerate the growth of Iowa business and career opportunities. The site offers many tools, technical assistance, and information about angel investors for entrepreneurs. IEN is a joint development of the Iowa Business Council and the Iowa Chamber Alliance. While designed for Iowa, it offers extensive information that can be useful to anyone wanting to set up a small business anywhere.
Business Matchmaking helps startups connect with big clients. Bagging a contract with a large company can be a dream come true to many entrepreneurs. Business Matchmaking, a partnership between the U.S. Small Business Administration and HP, continues in 2005 with more opportunities for small businesses to be matched with procurement representatives from government agencies and major corporations with actual contract opportunities.
Business Matchmaking combines education and counseling by expert small business advisors and topical experts with networking and matchmaking through regional face-to-face events. In addition, the Business Matchmaking Online Network is being introduced in five pilot communities: Phoenix, Arizona; Albuquerque, New Mexico; Tampa, Florida; Kansas City, Missouri; and Denver, Colorado. The Online Network will combine education and electronic matchmaking through an extensive Web-based portal to provide participating small businesses telephone-based interviews with procurement representatives from government agencies and major corporations.
The Business Matchmaking Online Network will roll out nationally in 2006 so that small businesses located anywhere in the U.S. will be able to take advantage of the extensive Business Matchmaking network of education, counseling, and buyers. Check out www.businessmatchmaking.com for more details
The Wall Street Journal operates StartupJournal.com, a valuable information and research site for entrepreneurs. Here, you can browse the site's online database of thousands of businesses and franchises for sale, how-to articles, business plan tools and their trademark search engine. Look for new information daily through their online newsletter. See www.startupjournal.com to read their special reports about franchising and small businesses.
A new quarterly e-newsletter reports on business trends, policy developments, and other issues impacting the business of economic development. Started by the former policy director of the National Commission on Entrepreneurship, EntreWorks Insights promotes economic development strategies, policies and programs. The authors of the newsletter promise "the best of new thinking about community economic development based on the belief that entrepreneurship in all its forms is the key to revitalizing our communities, ranging from the booming technology hot spots to distressed rural and urban communities." To subscribe to the newsletter, visit http://www.entreworks.net/cgi/news/signup.html
The Stanford Technology Ventures Program at http://stvp.stanford.edu includes videotaped interviews with Silicon Valley entrepreneurs, Stanford course materials, case studies, and links to organizations, events and journals. Since its launch in late October 2004, this site has attracted almost 1,000 registered users from 300 universities in 45 countries, Stanford says. The site was developed with funds from the Kauffman Foundation with the goal of reaching the 3,000 entrepreneurship educators across America and another 3,000 around the world.
Summary:
Spring has arrived and with it creative juices are flowing. The forecast for entrepreneurs in the United States is sunny and warm. So what are you waiting for? Get out into the sunshine and start planting your own opportunities! Please take advantage of all of these new resources and let me know which ones you find most useful in your quest to develop your own business.
Jane M. Lommel, Ph.D.
jlommel@WorkforceAssociates.com
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