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LINDA A. LIVINGSTONE
Dean, Graziadio School of Business and Management
Pepperdine University
Be a creative problem-finder
Several
recent studies offer a conflicting picture on the prospects for
entrepreneurs. On the one hand, a study released in June of this year
by the Kauffman Foundation
pointed out that more than half of the companies on the 2009 Fortune
500 list were launched during a recession or bear markets, along with
nearly half of the firms on the 2008 Inc. list. On the other hand, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that 15.4 million Americans were self-employed in May, versus 16 million in December, 2007.
So,
is it or is it not a good time to be in a small business or to step out
on your own as an entrepreneur? This could be the best time in a
generation.
Interestingly, successful entrepreneurs don’t
usually bother to predict the future. Rather, they try to control the
future. They find an interesting problem to solve and then try to bring
the solution into being. The great thing about a down economy is that
there are lots of problems to solve. And the great thing about teaching
entrepreneurship at the Graziadio School – a business school named for
a serial entrepreneur at a university founded by another entrepreneur –
is helping people be better problem finders. Resources are cheaper.
Paradoxically, it's a good time to start a new venture or to be the
business owner who has answered that all-important must-solve problem.
LINDA A. LIVINGSTONEDean, Graziadio School of Business and Management
Pepperdine University
Be a creative problem-finder
Several recent studies offer a conflicting picture on the prospects for entrepreneurs. On the one hand, a study released in June of this year by the Kauffman Foundation pointed out that more than half of the companies on the 2009 Fortune 500 list were launched during a recession or bear markets, along with nearly half of the firms on the 2008 Inc. list. On the other hand, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that 15.4 million Americans were self-employed in May, versus 16 million in December, 2007.
So, is it or is it not a good time to be in a small business or to step out on your own as an entrepreneur? This could be the best time in a generation.
Interestingly, successful entrepreneurs don’t usually bother to predict the future. Rather, they try to control the future. They find an interesting problem to solve and then try to bring the solution into being. The great thing about a down economy is that there are lots of problems to solve. And the great thing about teaching entrepreneurship at the Graziadio School – a business school named for a serial entrepreneur at a university founded by another entrepreneur – is helping people be better problem finders. Resources are cheaper. Paradoxically, it's a good time to start a new venture or to be the business owner who has answered that all-important must-solve problem.