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February 10, 2004
More evidence of the entrepreneurial recovery
Jon Hilsenrath writes in this article in startupjournal.com about more evidence of the impact, albeit underreported, on the current recovery. Hilsenrath reports that ??proprietor's income, excluding the farm sector, was up 8.6% from a year earlier. By contrast, the wages and salaries of individuals on corporate payrolls were up just 2.3%.? So there is growth in the economy, but it is not on the radar screen of the antiquated statistics used by the federal government.
The picture painted in the media showing hopeless unemployed wandering like some existential souls in a Camus novel into a life of self-employment out of desperation are not true. The data now shows that these folks, these entrepreneurs, are seeing growth in income that is twice the level of those within traditional jobs.
Hilsenrath goes on to report that while there are no national statistics on business formation, you heard it right, no national statistics, anecdotal evidence from Delaware and California show strong new business growth in 2003.
Once again, the most important force in this recovery, this entrepreneurial recovery, is being at best drastically underreported and most often unreported.
Posted February 10, 2004 11:56 AM
Comments
I suspect that there are a LOT of folks like me, middle-aged, educated, that are toiling away in relative obscurity and not being counted because we are sole proprietors or independent contractors, and not on somebody's payroll.
I have to admit that 2003 was pretty grim (though still barely profitable) and 2004 will be better. Whenever starting up, though, the first couple of years are more learning curve than anything else (especially if you start something in an area totally unrelated to prior field of expertise, as I did.)
Posted by: SwampWoman at February 12, 2004 04:09 PM
at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee. He consults with a variety of businesses on start-up and growth related issues, and with larger corporations on re-establishing entrepreneurial cultures within their organizations. Dr. Cornwall's current research interests include entrepreneurial finance and entrepreneurial ethics. He has authored or co-authored four books.
