The document discusses entrepreneurs and small businesses. It notes that a new business is created every 11 seconds in the US, and that entrepreneurs launch 3.5-4.5 million businesses per year. Entrepreneurs take risks to pursue new opportunities and profit. Small businesses make up most businesses and jobs in the US and are a major contributor to the economy. However, small business ownership also involves long hours, stress, and high failure rates within the first few years.

1. Entrepreneurs: The Driving Force Behind Small Businesses

2. The Age of the Entrepreneur A new business is born in the U.S. every 11 seconds. Study of influential Americans: THE defining trend of the 21 st century: Entrepreneurship! One of every 25 adults is actively engaged in trying to start a new business.

3. Source: 1999 Global Entrepreneurship Monitor 6.8% Canada 5.4% Israel Percentage of Adult Population Working to Start a New Business Country 8.5% United States 3.4% Italy 3.3% Great Britain 2.2% Germany 2.0% Denmark 1.8% France 1.6% Japan 1.4% Finland

4. The Age of the Entrepreneur Entrepreneurs launch 3.5 to 4.5 million businesses a year in the U.S. Survey of college seniors: 49% of men and 31% of women said they were interested in pursuing entrepreneurship after graduation.

5. What Is an Entrepreneur? A person who creates a new business in the face of risk and uncertainty for the purpose of achieving profit and growth by identifying opportunities and assembling the necessary resources to capitalize on those opportunities.

7. Characteristics of Entrepreneurs Desire for responsibility Preference for moderate risk Confidence in their ability to succeed Desire for immediate feedback High level of energy Future orientation Skilled in organization Value achievement over money

8. Source: Yanjelovich Partners and Pitney Bowes.

9. Benefits of Small Business Ownership The opportunity to: gain control over your own destiny make a difference reach your full potential reap unlimited profits contribute to society and to be recognized for your efforts do what you enjoy

10. Drawbacks of Small Business Ownership Uncertainty of income Risk of losing your entire invested capital

11. Drawbacks of Small Business Ownership Uncertainty of income Risk of losing your entire invested capital Long hours and hard work

12. Drawbacks of Small Business Ownership Lower quality of life until the business gets established Uncertainty of income Risk of losing your entire invested capital Long hours and hard work

14. Drawbacks of Small Business Ownership High levels of stress Complete responsibility Discouragement Uncertainty of income Risk of losing your entire invested capital Long hours and hard work Lower quality of life until the business gets established

15. Feeding the Entrepreneurial Fire Entrepreneurs as heroes Entrepreneurial education Economic and demographic factors Shift to a service economy

16. Feeding the Entrepreneurial Fire Technological advancements Independent lifestyles E-Commerce and the World Wide Web International Opportunities

17. Trends in Entrepreneurship Young entrepreneurs Women

19. Minority enterprises Immigrant entrepreneurs Part-time entrepreneurs Home-based businesses Trends in Entrepreneurship Young entrepreneurs Women

20. Trends in Entrepreneurship Family businesses Copreneurs Corporate castoffs Corporate dropouts

21. A Profile of Small Business by Industry

22. Small Businesses... make up 98.5% of all the businesses in the U.S. employ 52% of the nation's private sector workforce. create more jobs than big businesses. lead the way in training workers for jobs.

23. Small Businesses... produce 51% of the nation's GDP. account for 47% of business sales. create 4X more innovations per R & D dollar spent than medium-sized firms and 24X as many as large companies.

25. The Small Business Failure Record 24% of new businesses fail after two years. 51% fail within four years. 60% fail within six years.

26. Nine Deadly Mistakes of Entrepreneurship Management incompetence Lack of experience Undercapitalization Poor cash management Lack of strategic management

27. Nine Deadly Mistakes of Entrepreneurship Weak marketing effort Uncontrolled growth Poor location Lack of inventory control Inability to make the “entrepreneurial transition”

28. Putting Failure Into Perspective Failure is a natural part of the creative process. Failures are simply stepping stones along the path to success. The “secret” to success is the ability to fail intelligently , learning why you failed so that you can avoid making the same mistake again.

29. How to Avoid the Pitfalls Know your business in depth. Prepare a business plan. Manage financial resources. Understand financial statements. Learn to manage people effectively. Set your business apart from the competition. Keep in tune with yourself.