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According
to the U.S. Small Business Administration, many successful
entrepreneurs have similar traits and characteristics, including:
- Persistence
- Desire for immediate feedback
- Inquisitiveness
- Strong drive to achieve
- High energy level
- Goal-oriented behavior
- Independent
- Demanding
- Self-confident
- Calculated risk taker
- Creative
- Innovative
- Vision
- Commitment
- Problem solving skills
- Tolerance for ambiguity
- Strong integrity
- Highly reliable
- Personal initiative
- Ability to consolidate resources
- Strong
management and organizational skills
- Competitive
- Change agent
- Tolerance for failure
- Desire to work hard
In
sum, they are not the kind of people who tend towards pessimism or who easily
lose heart. With that in mind, the perspectives detailed by the nation's
largest non-profit foundation devoted to entrepreneurship in the following
report, "Entrepreneurs' Gloom Contradicts Wall Street Optimism,"
should give (further) pause to those who believe a "V"-shaped
recovery is at hand:
Kauffman
Foundation poll of entrepreneurs suggests economic growth engine still in low
gear
Nation's
primary job creators say government should do more
The
Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation today announced the results of a new survey
of American entrepreneurs showing that entrepreneurs and small businesses
continue to struggle despite increasing optimism on Wall Street. One week
before Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke made the statement that the
recession is "very likely over," two-thirds of entrepreneurs
reported that the economy is heading in the wrong direction.
In the
past year, more than one-third of the entrepreneurs surveyed have shed jobs
while only five percent of entrepreneurs have added employees. A majority of
entrepreneurs believe that the stimulus package has hurt entrepreneurial
activity, and entrepreneurs want government to pursue a fundamentally
different approach to encourage entrepreneurship.
"In
America, entrepreneurial activity is a leading force in the health and growth
of our economy," said Carl J. Schramm, president and CEO of the Kauffman
Foundation. "These results confirm that we've got a long way to go
before we’re in the clear."
Later
this week the Kauffman Foundation will release details of a new initiative
designed to enable entrepreneurs to have more influence on decisions that
impact small business growth and job creation.
Kauffman
Foundation studies have shown that entrepreneurs have historically been key
drivers of economic recovery in past recessionary periods. Since 1980,
companies less than five years old have accounted for virtually all net new
job creation in the United States.
"Pessimism
and revenue loss among entrepreneurs on the front lines of the economy
indicate that the fruits of economic recovery have yet to hit Main
Street," Schramm said.
Other key
findings include:
- 69 percent
of entrepreneurs believe the recession will last one to two years longer
- 75 percent
think the United States cannot have a sustained economic recovery
without another burst of entrepreneurial activity
Pollster
Doug Schoen surveyed more than 250 entrepreneurs and 150 "would-be"
entrepreneurs from Sept. 8 to Sept. 12, 2009. An entrepreneur was defined as
someone who has started a business and is currently running it. A would-be
entrepreneur was defined as someone who would like to start a business.
Michael
J. Panzner
Editor, Financialarmageddon.com
Also
by Michael J. Panzner
Michael J. Panzner is a
25-year veteran of the global stock, bond, and currency markets and the
author of Financial Armageddon: Protecting Your Future from Four Impending
Catastrophes, published by Kaplan Publishing.
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