As Kauffman Labs helps grow and educate the entrepreneurial community through programs, events and workshops, we came across an aspiring gentleman with an idea. Nodir Abdullayev (Bek) has just recently found out about the entrepreneurial community in Kansas City and has made strides to become engaged since finding his first event through Kauffman Labs. Learn how Bek’s first experience made him go from an aspiring entrepreneur to lean entrepreneur.
At age 25, Laura Sanko was a founding member of a startup that raised $3.5 Million from some world-famous investors and the Founder’s Fund. The business model was simple: a website that rented high-end jewelry for special occasions for a fraction of the retail value of each piece. Three years later, the investment money was all gone and while the site continued to operate, it had failed to meet the investors’ expectations.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama is to renew a push on Tuesday to persuade the U.S. Congress to approve a $30 billion plan to spur lending to small businesses and trigger job creation.
In the depths of the credit crunch, community lenders become a popular financing source for Main Street. But small-business owners may need to work harder to get support from local banks these days.
According to the Kauffman Index of Entrepreneurial Activity: 1996 – 2009 report, U.S. small business startups launched in 2009 reached record highs when compared to startups created during the 2007 – 2009 recession. Additionally, the report uncovered that entrepreneurial growth was the highest among 35-…
Like every salesperson, I have a set quota I’m responsible for meeting each month. The difference is, it’s self-imposed since I’m my own boss. Small-business owners might be happy to learn there is a formula to help you reach your goals consistently each month.
Lately it seems as if the term “business plan” has become synonymous with the entrepreneurship education initiatives that have sprung up on nearly every college campus and small business development center in the country.
Business plan competitions, business plan writing clinics, business planning software, business…
Not so fast, Martha Stewart.
OK, you’re special. You are talented and one of the best at what you do. But that doesn’t mean that you’re equipped to run your own business–even one within a field or industry you’ve been working in or following for years.
To wit: 627,200 new businesses opened in the U.S. in 2008–the same year 595,600 businesses shuttered and 43,546 filed for bankruptcy, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). Likewise, 30% of small businesses fail within the first two years and half close shop within five years, according to the SBA.
The fact of the matter is that far too many people launch their own companies for all the wrong reasons and without the tools it takes to succeed. Before handing in your notice and signing a lease on an office, it’s imperative you take a hard look at yourself in the salaried eye and ask yourself a few critical questions that could mean the difference between a fulfilling life as your own boss and speed-dialing a bankruptcy lawyer.
OK, let me get this straight: The Small Business Administration’s Office of Advocacy reports that 27 million small businesses in the U.S. account for 50% of the Gross National Product and employ over 50% of the workforce, and Washington figures $30 billion in loan support and some tax credits will get things done.
What’s that, $1,100 per company? Wow, where do we sign up!
Our fearful leaders gave $50 billion to General Motors, and $185 billion to AIG. According to the Congressional Budget Office publication, The Budget & Economic Outlook: An Update August 2009, big business has been showered with more than $10 trillion (that’s a “T”) in funding and commitments, including: $1.3 trillion disbursed by the Federal Reserve, with another $2.8 trillion committed (including aid to AIG, Citigroup, Bank of America, Bear Stearns; $800 billion from the Treasury, with $3.6 trillion committed (including guarantees for Money Market Funds and TARP); and over $2.1 trillion committed by the FDIC (including increased depositor insurance and more Citigroup guarantees).
Um, does $30 billion to small business make a difference?
After the recent “48 Hour Launch” weekend that drew more than five dozen participants, eight new companies now dot the city’s small-business landscape.
The third annual event, sponsored by LaunchMemphis, replaced the organization’s former Startup Weekend program. Interest in the program easily surpassed previous incarnations, leaders said, and the number of viable companies was nearly triple that of last year.