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From the Horse’s Mouth: Entrepreneurs in their Own Words
If you want to learn about entrepreneurship, ask an entrepreneur. Harvard Business School is following that simple advice with a new web page that captures the experiences and thoughts of 27 leading entrepreneurs. The HBS Entrepreneurs web page is a video archive of interviews with a host of interesting business leaders, including Thomas Sternberg of Staples, John Whitehead of Goldman Sachs, and renowned venture capitalist Arthur Rock. Each of the interviews lasts approximately one hour, but they are also divided up into key topics like finding opportunities, teaching entrepreneurship, and giving back to society.
To access the HBS interview series, visit http://www.hbs.edu/entrepreneurs/
Best Places for New Facilities
We often report on the various lists and rankings of good places to do business, and most of our coverage examines best places for new entrepreneurs. But what are the best places if you’re moving your corporate headquarters? Or looking to open up a new manufacturing facility? If you’re looking for new sites of this sort, North Carolina and Georgia are the best places to start according to this year’s business climate survey by Site Selection magazine. North Carolina leads the magazine’s business climate rankings; Georgia tops the preferred list of corporate real estate executives. Because these states have low taxes, attractive incentive packages, and relatively low cost labor, Site Selection deems them to be excellent locations for new plant or facility developments. In general, the Southeast leads the pack in this year’s ranking. In addition to North Carolina and Georgia, Southern states dominate the list. This year’s business climate rankings are, in order: North Carolina, Michigan, Tennessee, Ohio, Virginia, Texas, Georgia, Illinois, South Carolina, and Florida.
To learn more about this survey, visit http://www.siteselection.com/issues/2003/nov/p658/
Recipe for a Start-Up? Take $6,000 and . . .
A new Small Business Administration-sponsored study takes a look at the tough question of how much it costs to start a business. “Not much,” according to entrepreneurs themselves. The study, by Blade Consulting, involved interviews with more than 800 aspiring entrepreneurs who were asked to project how much their proposed business would cost. Solo entrepreneurs expected their start-up costs to average $6,000. Those working with teams expected costs to reach an average of $20,000. Not surprisingly, those interviewed also expected to do well. Solo entrepreneurs expected to have an annual income of $90,000 by the fifth year of business; team-based business owners expected to earn $125,000 by this period. Most interviewees also expected to bootstrap their companies, i.e. build the business through savings or through sales income. Yet, the average aspiring business owner had only saved $2,000 for the new business.
To learn more about the study, Expected Costs of Startup Ventures, visit
http://www.sba.gov/advo/research/rs232tot.pdf
Self-Employment Among Women
Self-employment among women seems to be on the rise according to a new study from the National Association for the Self-Employed (NASE). The NASE study surveyed more than 1,000 male and female micro-business owners. Women-owned business starts grew at double-digit rates between 2000 and 2003, outpacing the rate for men-owned businesses by nearly 2-1. The researchers claim that this pattern is best explained by women surveying a tough economic environment and opting for self-employment as the best means to obtain secure, flexible, and interesting job opportunities. This pattern does not just portray good news about empowering women. In fact, the interviewed women entrepreneurs were more likely to work part-time and earn less income. But, when compared to men, women entrepreneurs were more committed to maintaining and seeking to grow their businesses over time.
To learn more about the poll, visit http://news.nase.org/news/releases/2003/111103_survey.asp
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Ashoka
US Headquarters
1700 North Moore Street, Suite 200
Arlington, VA 22209
703-527-8300
FAX: 703-527-8383
USCanadaProgram@ashoka.org
www.ashoka.org
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Social entrepreneurship is booming around the globe. One of the pioneers in this field is Ashoka, a global network of leading social entrepreneurs. Ashoka is named after a 3rd century B.C. Indian emperor who is remembered for many social innovations. It invests in social entrepreneurs promoting innovations in fields such as health care, agriculture, social services, and the like. These Ashoka fellows can then tap into a global network of experts to receive professional support, training, and other essential services. In effect, Ashoka is seeking to “professionalize” the development of social entrepreneurs. To date, Ashoka has funded 1,400 entrepreneurs in 48 different countries, and it backs an additional 150 leaders every year. In addition to this excellent work, Ashoka maintains a superb website and on-line journal (at www.changemakers.net) that offers a detailed look at innovative programs and individuals around the world.
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