The Entrepreneurial Mind

Having endured more than my share of hurricanes and ice storms when I was in business in North Carolina, I like to pass along advice on how to protect your business against such events. The SBA issued this press release today:

As several states recover from the destruction and loss of life caused by recent tornadoes, floods and wildfires, and other areas prepare for the beginning of the 2008 Atlantic Hurricane Season on June 1, the U.S. Small Business Administration is urging the public to develop an emergency plan before the disaster hits.

"Every threat, from wind storms, floods and wildfires, to power outages and computer system failures, reminds us to be proactive when it comes to planning strategies to survive a disaster and recover quickly," said SBA Deputy Administrator Jovita Carranza. "The catastrophic events of the last few years demonstrate the need for preparedness at the individual level, to diminish the risk to life and property."

The SBA stands ready to help communities recover in the aftermath of a disaster. Following the Gulf Coast Hurricanes of 2005, the SBA approved more than $5 billion in disaster loans to 102,700 homeowners and renters in the region. Businesses in the area were approved for 16,780 business disaster loans worth $1.6 billion.

During the past two years the SBA has been preparing to respond to major disasters by reengineering the Disaster Assistance program with a significant focus on customer service, direct accountability, and new technologies that have quadrupled processing capacity. In June 2007 the agency completed its Disaster Recovery Plan, which includes procedures to better handle future catastrophic disasters, and has begun testing this plan through simulations conducted with outside experts.

Disasters strike in all seasons. Since Oct. 1, the SBA has responded to 137 declared disasters, including those for drought. Of those, 118 are open at present.

Disaster preparedness for homes and businesses should include:

- A solid emergency response plan. Find evacuation routes from the home or business and establish meeting places. Make sure everyone understands the plan beforehand. Keep emergency phone numbers handy. Business owners should designate a contact person to communicate with other employees, customers and vendors. Ask an out-of-state friend or family member to be your “post-disaster” point of contact – a person to call to provide information on your safety and whereabouts.

- Adequate insurance. Disaster preparedness begins with having adequate insurance coverage—at least enough to rebuild your home or business. Homeowners and business owners should review their policies to see what is or isn’t covered. Businesses should consider “business interruption insurance,” which helps cover operating costs during the post-disaster shutdown period. Flood insurance is essential. To find out more about the National Flood Insurance Program, visit the Web site at www.floodsmart.gov.

- Making copies of important records. It’s a good idea to back up vital records and information saved on computer hard drives, and store that information at a distant offsite location. Computer data should be backed up routinely. Copies of important documents and CDs should be stored in fire-proof safe deposit boxes offsite.

- Protection of windows, doors and roofing. Installing impact-resistant window and door systems, or simple plywood shutters installed before the storm hits can enhance their ability to resist impacts from wind-borne debris. Hire a professional to evaluate your roof to make sure it can weather a major storm.

- A "Disaster Survival Kit." The kit should include a flashlight, a portable radio, extra batteries, a first-aid kit, non-perishable packaged and canned food, bottled water, a basic tool kit, plastic bags, cash, and a disposable camera to take pictures of the property damage after the storm.

More information from the SBA can be found at their website.

Posted by Jeff Cornwall at 09:35 AM | Permalink

In cleaning out the hundreds of e-mails that amassed during my recent vacation that took me off the grid I came across an interesting study. (By the way, I highly recommend a complete break from email, voice mail, etc. at least once a year -- you will be amazed at how calming it can be).

In the 2008 American Express OPEN Spring Monitor, they found a sharp contrast between business owners over sixty and the small business population at large as they manage their way through the current economic uncertainty.

The over sixty age group holds the most optimistic outlook among entrepreneurs surveyed, perhaps due to having endured downturns in the past. For these business owners the biggest challenge to growth is not an uncertain economy, cited by nearly one third of small business owners overall (30%), but the rising costs of doing business cited by 27% of over sixty year olds. Those of us over 50 (Let's be clear -- I am not yet in the over 60 crowd) have been through many economic ups and downs. We also remember the frustration and challenges that come with prolonged inflation. Younger entrepreneurs have no frame of reference for what inflation can do to small businesses.

Entrepreneurs over sixty are taking actions that show they learned from their past experiences with inflation. Although they are generally more optimistic, they are nonetheless being more cautious in their business decisions:

- 27% of business owners over sixty report plans to hire over the next six
months vs. 38% of small business owners overall; 58% of business owners aged 18-34 report plans to hire

- 42% of business owners over sixty report plans to make capital investments over the next six months vs. 53% of entrepreneurs overall

- 43% of entrepreneurs over sixty are willing to take on a financial risk to grow their business vs. 51% of small business owners overall

Posted by Jeff Cornwall at 07:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Matt Bandyk, a reporter at US News, has started a new blog on entrepreneurship called Risky Business. Matt's blog takes a similar balance of practical ideas with public policy issues that impact the entrepreneurial economy as I have tried to do at this blog. It is definitely worth a read.

Posted by Jeff Cornwall at 08:05 AM | Permalink

I have worried openly that both major parties in the US are following agendas that have little to offer for entrepreneurs. All of the remaining candidates in both parties favor programs that will lead to higher taxes and expanded roles for government.

This past weekend the Libertarian Party choose former Republican congressman Bob Barr as its presidential candidate for 2008. Might he offer an alternative choice more favorable to our entrepreneurial economy?

What helps entrepreneurs is lower, simpler taxes and less governmental involvement in the economy. These are the two of the major issues addressed thus far by Barr. He favors a massive roll-back in the role of federal government and a change to a consumption tax (which includes a repeal of the 16th amendment that created the income tax).

Does he have a chance of winning? Probably not. But, he currently is already tracking about 6% in recent polls. This is much higher than any Libertarian candidate has ever registered.

He does offer a voice for those who favor more freedom and less government. The last two Republican Presidents and the current party nominee have all left that part of their party behind. Just a Nader pulled the Democrats sharply left, as we see in the two final candidates remaining this year, perhaps Barr could help pull the Republicans back to the right.

I don't endorse candidates at this site. But I do examine how their issues impact small business and our entrepreneurial economy. Mr. Barr has caught my attention.

Posted by Jeff Cornwall at 07:28 AM | Permalink

My column in Sunday's Tennessean outlined some basic steps to help entrepreneurs weather the current economic storm.

Posted by Jeff Cornwall at 07:13 AM | Permalink

The Tax Foundation estimates that on average Americans spend about 2.5 hours of a typical eight hour work day working to pay their taxes. Or, if you want to think of it in terms of a typical work week, you spend all of Monday and Tuesday up until the end of your morning coffee break working to pay your taxes.

Think about that when you hear the calls for even higher taxes!

Posted by Jeff Cornwall at 09:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Babson College will host a memorial service celebrating the life of our dear friend, colleague, teacher, and mentor Professor Jeffry Timmons, who passed away on April 8th at the age of 66.

The service, which will take place at Babson on Friday, June 20 at 10:30 a.m., is intended to honor Prof. Timmons and commemorate his great impact and influence on Babson and the global entrepreneurial community as well as his legacy as a beloved husband, father and grandfather.

On Thursday, June 19th, the afternoon/evening before the services, Babson Collete will be holding a discussion devoted to “Envisioning Entrepreneurship in 2020”, a topic dear to Prof. Timmons.

If you plan to attend either or both, please email timmonsmemorial@babson.edu for additional details.

Posted by Jeff Cornwall at 09:17 AM | Permalink

I have generally hesitated on relying on bootstrapping legal work when it comes to complex legal work. However, I have run into more and more entrepreneurs who do just that.

During our recent vacation, we spent one night with our old friends Joe and Nancy Rankin in Cary, NC.

Joe has successfully navigated the patent process on his own for several products he has developed. His business, SECTION8 tactical Inc., offers products to assist competitive shooters, tactical officers, and military personnel with their daily operations.

He said that doing your own patent work takes a great deal of time, patience and attention to detail. But, he insists, it can be done. For simple products like the ones he offers, this strategy can make sense.

Here is a link to his product website.

Posted by Jeff Cornwall at 08:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

This will be my last post for several days. Mrs. C. and I are taking a trip to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary -- off to the beach, playing some golf, and visiting old friends along the way.

I will be going "off the grid", but I plan to plug back in and start writing again soon after Memorial Day.

Posted by Jeff Cornwall at 05:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Thomas Frank of the Wall Street Journal offered a rather harsh analysis of the economic boom that was the past two decades.

It is, in other words, a political disaster, with tax cuts, trade agreements, deregulatory measures, and enforcement decisions all finely crafted to benefit one part of society and leave the rest behind. Few of the voters who gave Ronald Reagan his landslide victories, it is fair to say, intended for this to be the outcome. They wanted their country to stand tall again, certainly; they wanted the scary regulators off their backs, maybe; but I can recall no conservative who trumpeted those long-ago elections – or any of the succeeding contests, for that matter – as a referendum on plutocracy.

Say what? Have no fear.... James Pethokoukis sets the record straight in his column at US News.

Posted by Jeff Cornwall at 05:46 AM | Permalink

According to the latest report from the National Venture Capital Association, venture capital investments were down 8.5% during the first quarter of 2008 when compared to the last quarter of 2007. The report also found that deal flow was also down.

The decrease in new deals landing on the desk of VCs and the fewer deals being funded are both consistent with the slowdown in the economy.

"Despite the current economic downturn in the United States, venture capitalists are still putting money to work across multiple industries and stages of development," said Mark Heesen, president of the NVCA. "The continued interest in the life sciences and clean technology industries, as well as the traditional IT sectors, reflects the long term investment horizon that the venture industry has always embraced. We do not expect to see significant declines in investment levels in the coming year. However, the dollars going to later stage investments could increase if the IPO window remains closed for an extended period of time and venture capitalists have to sustain companies longer than expected."

This part of the report actually concerns me more than the slowing flow of deals. VCs had already become more cautious in 2007, pursuing more later stage deals. With angels also pursing their investments into later stage deals, there is an alarming shortage of money for seed and early stage ventures.

The drag on these shifts might be felt on the economy for years to come.

Posted by Jeff Cornwall at 05:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

American politicians are talking about higher tax rates, bigger government, and intervention by bureaucrats in markets to pick winners and losers (what I call socialized entrepreneurship). As the US drifts toward socialism, could we see our neighbors to the north passing by us heading away from such policies?

From the National Dialogue on Entrepreneurship (emphasis added):

A new study from Canada's Institute for Research and Public Policy seeks to understand why and to see whether any potential solutions are available. The author, Donald McFetridge, fingers the business sector’s lack of innovation and entrepreneurial spirit as primary cause for Canada's productivity lag. While the Canadian government has introduced multiple programs to stimulate innovation, the national innovation culture is still quite weak. McFetridge contends that new innovation policies should focus on supporting "market incentives for entrepreneurship" through reduced taxes and regulation.

Posted by Jeff Cornwall at 05:41 AM | Permalink

In the latest small business poll from the NFIB, entrepreneurs see an upturn toward the end of the year.

The NFIB Index of Small Business Optimism rose 1.9 points in April to 91.5 (1986=100). Half of the gain was due to an improved outlook for business conditions 6 months out, and a quarter was from improved earnings trends. Improved earnings during a slowdown seems to indicate that business owners saw this soft economy coming and took steps to cut costs.

However, the net percent of owners reporting higher average selling prices rose again this month. And the percent of owners citing inflation as their No. 1 problem was up to the highest reading since 1982. The number of those planning to raise prices also rose significantly.

Inflation is starting to hit main street.

Posted by Jeff Cornwall at 06:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

From MyFox Chattanooga (via Ben Cunningham):

When Larry Thomas couldn't get a bank loan for his struggling construction business, he turned to Yale University students less than half his age.

Elmseed Enterprise Program, which provides small loans and intensive technical support primarily to low income and other disadvantaged entrepreneurs, is the first micro-financing program in the country run by college students, organizers say. It sparked a similar initiative last year by Harvard University students, while Georgetown students are planning a program in Washington D.C., Rutgers in New Jersey and others such as the University of Rochester in New York are considering starting programs.

Posted by Jeff Cornwall at 05:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I am in Cleveland at John Carroll University this week conducting a workshop on taking entrepreneurship across the campus.

Last night over dinner, one of my hosts told a story about a recent business event. A local business leader said that one of the problems with economy in Northeastern Ohio is that they don't have enough entrepreneurs.

Trust me. I am sure that there are plenty of aspiring entrepreneurs. Every survey shows how prevalent entrepreneurial aspirations are in America today. No, the problem is not with a shortage of entrepreneurs. The problem is that this area does not have public policy that supports entrepreneurial economic activity.

For example, one of the most important predictor of entrepreneurial activity is taxes -- Ohio ranks 46th in overall tax rank in a recent report by the Tax Foundation. Even worse, Ohio ranks 48th in individual taxes. Since most entrepreneurial ventures are pass-through entities (LLCs, S-corp, partnership or sole proprietorship), the individual tax ranking is the most important tax predictor of entrepreneurial activity.

Posted by Jeff Cornwall at 05:40 AM | Permalink

I encourage you to read Susan Brown's wonderful essay that challenges how we define success in our lives.

My generation has lost touch with what it means to be content. We equate contentment with home or bank account size. Are we content? I suppose we could ask the psychiatrists and counselors we regularly visit. Alternatively, maybe look at divorce statistics or observe declining church roles while noting increasing doctor visits for stress-related ailments. Maybe interview local pharmacists who increasingly fill prescriptions for sleep and stress disorders or ask a financial analyst to explain the reason behind the increasing debt ratios.

I wish I had clear-cut answers as to why our generation has taken a 180-degree turn from prior generations. Success is good, but a problem occurs when enough is not enough. Our nation is heading down a destructive road unless our values change. Bigger government is not the answer. A diamond's size does not make a lasting relationship. True beauty is not superficial. House size, career title or bank balance does not equal contentment.

Posted by Jeff Cornwall at 07:28 AM | Permalink

In my Tennessean column this week I write about the importance of defining our lives by more than what we do for a living.

We seem to create folk heroes out of entrepreneurs who expend Herculean efforts to achieve success in their businesses.

And while this is good to a point, if entrepreneurial success comes at the expense of our marriages, our families, our faith, and our friendships, it is a hollow victory.

Posted by Jeff Cornwall at 07:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

A new global study from The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) reports that women entrepreneurs are a key contributor to economic growth in low/middle income countries, particularly in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Among the findings:

- There is no gender difference in the survival rate of women's businesses versus those of men in high-income countries.

- Women who are employed and have built a social network of entrepreneurs are more likely to become entrepreneurs. The social and economic benefits of working are driving women's entrepreneurship more than increased education or household income.

- Women tend to be less optimistic and self-confident than men about starting a business. But once involved in entrepreneurial activity, women's confidence builds, and they are more likely to know other entrepreneurs, and exploit viable opportunities just like their male counterparts. Given difference in how various cultures around the globe view economic independence among women, the initial lack of confidence is not surprising. The good news is that once they take the entrepreneurial plunge, they gain confidence. Entrepreneurship has not only economic implications, but social implications for women as well.

- Fear of failure is also higher for women in all country groups compared to their male counterparts. Women in Europe and Asia low/middle income countries had the highest fear of failure rates (40.3%) compared to women in Latin America and the Caribbean (34.2%), and women in high-income countries (27.1%).

A good way to help women entrepreneurs is to join with those of us who give micro-loans through Kiva. I just made eight micro-loans to aspiring women entrepreneurs around the globe.

Posted by Jeff Cornwall at 06:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I remain somewhat concerned about the current slow down and/or recession. I remain very concerned about inflation. If you are an entrepreneurs, it is time to prepare for the worst. Here is a summary of a talk I gave to a group of printing company owners yesterday.

To get prepared for any economic downturn, it is best to think in terms of getting your financial statements in order.

First let's look at the Income Statement.

Revenues

Even though budget cutting is part of getting ready, do not cut back on marketing efforts. Now more than ever you need to stay front and center in the minds of your customers. Competition is going to get even tougher, so you need to keep your competitive edge by reminding the customers that you want their business. Many of your competitors will slash marketing budgets to save money. That will give you an advantage if you keep getting your message out there.

As part of this effort, take special care of your best customers. Make a personal sales call on them to let them know their business matters. Pay particular attention to those customers who are loyal, as their loyalty could get tested during difficult times.

As soon as you observe any increases in your costs of doing business, begin an aggressive campaign to increase prices. Frequent small price increases usually work best.

Focus on revenues that generate good margins. The goal should be to grow profits, not sales. Get rid of business that is not making good margins. When inflation heats up these accounts can quickly become money losers for you.

Expenses

Cut your overhead expenses. This will lower your break even and help buffer your profit margins from sudden price increases from your suppliers or if a major customer suddenly is forced to cut or even cancel orders from you. Overhead is your enemy right now.

Get back to basics. Look around your business to see what could be cut without having a drastic impact on your business. This may involve staff. This is painful, but may be necessary to protect the jobs of those that remain. Cut any fluff that you have allowed to creep into your expenses.

I even go so far as to tell folks to get back into your start-up mentality. Bootstrap, bootstrap, bootstrap!! This may be particularly effective in marketing. I said earlier that marketing should not be cut back. But it can almost always be done more efficiently.

Now let's turn to the Balance Sheet.

Cash

Cash is King.

Improve your cash flow. The steps outline above can help. Also pay attention to accounts receivable. During difficult times your customers will begin to slow down payments to take care of their own financial strains. Stay aggressive on collections. Use carrots and use sticks to keep their payments coming in a timely basis.

Build your cash reserves. The larger the cash war chest you have the better you can make it through sudden price increases from suppliers and sudden losses of key customers. It provides a shock absorber that you will definitely need more than once in the coming months.

Debt

In addition to building cash reserves, pay down debt as aggressively as you can. There are two reasons for this.

First, as inflation heats up interest rates may go up even faster than they have recently come down. This will effect your new loans and all of your existing debt, such as lines of credit, that have variable rates.

Second, banks will become much more strict when it comes to the covenants and performance requirements built into your loans. If you miss these numbers, the odds have increased that you will feel pressure from your bank to get in compliance. They can call in a note even if you make every payment on time if you start to fall below some of the financial ratios that are part of your loan agreement.

If I sound urgent, it is because many of these things will take some time to get in order. If I am right about the economy, you need to take action now. If I am wrong, the worst that happens is that you have significantly improved your financial conditions. That is not a bad thing even in good economic times.

Posted by Jeff Cornwall at 06:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

According to the 2008 American Express OPEN Spring Monitor, small business owners have made the following changes since the 2007 American Express OPEN Fall Monitor, released in September.

- 34% do not offer healthcare coverage to employees; 29% didn’t offer coverage in September 2007

- 6% have reduced coverage in the last six months; 4% reduced coverage in the six months preceding September 2007

- 6% have eliminated coverage altogether in the last six months; 2% eliminated coverage in the six months preceding September 2007

- 9% have required employees to pay a larger share of healthcare costs over the last six months; 5% required employees to pay a larger share in the six months preceding September 2007

- 20% have been shopping for a new healthcare carrier in the last six months; 15% were shopping for a new carrier in the six months preceding September 2007

The healthcare solutions will not address the underlying problem behind much of this -- the cost of healthcare is a main contributor of inflation. If people had to pay for their own healthcare out of pocket (we all pay for it, but this gets hidden in lower net pay, taxes, and in the cost of goods and services) and if we tracked the cost of healthcare like we pay attention to the cost o gas the outrage would deafening.

While they may address the issue of access, all of the "reform" proposals on the table right now will only increase the total cost of healthcare. Access and cost are both fundamental problems that need to be addressed.

Employees are not the only ones feeling the effects of -- small business owners' health is also suffering.

- 71% of small business owners said being an entrepreneur meant they were so busy that they took their health for granted.

- 90% said there are aspects of their life that suffer as they seek to maintain work/life balance

- 20% indicated maintaining their health/fitness was the area that suffered the most.

This is also alarming to me. Poor health is a major cause of people leaving the world of entrepreneurship.

Posted by Jeff Cornwall at 05:20 AM | Permalink

The federal reserve announced that bank credit has tightened. Not startling news, but the implications might catch small business owners by surprise.

The first impact is on new loans. Tighter credit standards means that banks will be even more conservative on business lending. Higher standards for cash flow, personal credit history, collateral requirements, and performance standards. Business loans that might have been approved a year ago, might no longer meet this new standards.

The second impact is on existing loans. This is where the surprise might hit hard on many small businesses. Many entrepreneurs assume that business loans work like personal loans -- you make your payments on time and the bank leaves you alone. Not true. Making payments on time is only one of several criteria that bankers will be watching. They will look hard at all of those loan covenants and performance expectations that many of us gloss over the the excitement of getting a loan for a new project.

During tight credit times, these restrictions become much more important for a bank to watch -- they are judged on how well they meet performance standards by the federal regulators. For example, a common condition is to maintain a certain debt coverage ratio, which measures how comfortably your cash flow covers your loan obligations. If you dip below the agreed upon ratio, the bank may step in and require you to improve your performance. If you don't, the bank can call your loan even if you never missed or were late with a payment.

The bank's portfolio of loans comes under tighter scrutiny during tough times like this, and they will pass that scrutiny along to their business loans.

Once a bank asks you to move your loan, you have to find another bank that will take on your loan. During good economic times, this is somewhat easier. But during times like these, all banks are under the gun to improve, so this becomes a much more difficult task.

Yet another reason to get back to basics during tough economic times. It becomes even more critical to improve cash flow and bring down debt.

Posted by Jeff Cornwall at 07:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

If the dot.com era taught us anything it should have been the difference between a financing scheme and starting a real business. A real business has legs. A real business lasts, endures, grows, adapts and prospers.

Sadly, I still see countless examples of people confusing simply raising a bunch of money and launching a business that creates real economic development.

Andy Tabar sent along this link to a posting from the blog written by the company 37signals.

Suggesting startups -- specifically tech startups -- don't need to look for revenue opportunities now is akin to spoiling a child and shielding them from the outside world: They're far less prepared when they eventually have to leave the house for the first time.

A poorly run startup is a poorly run business. A wonderfully run startup is a wonderfully run business. I don't believe there are many great startups that are bad businesses. Maybe less than 1%. If the business is bad the startup is bad. A great idea, maybe, but a great business, no.

So if you start something up, start a business, don't start a startup.

Posted by Jeff Cornwall at 06:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I've been told that I have a face for radio and a voice for newspaper......

That being said, you can hear an interview I did for the podcast Patrons of Change here.

For those of you who are technology challenged just click the "play" button directly under the title. I say this only because it took this Luddite blogger about 10 minutes to figure out how to make it play....

Posted by Jeff Cornwall at 02:43 PM | Permalink

Last evening we went to hear a group of songwriters at the Bluebird Cafe here in Nashville as part of the Folk Alliance (their website is folk.org, which seems to be down this morning as I write this post). One of them performing last night, James Lee Stanley, is one we first heard over thirty years ago -- I blogged about him a couple of months ago.

What a wonderful evening of music and an affirmation that the music industry is alive and well. The three featured songwriters had all been writing and performing since the 1970s. Are they rich and famous? No. Have they been making a living pursuing what gives them passion? Absolutely.

There is a good lesson here for entrepreneurs in any industry.

Too much attention is given to celebrity and fame. We see it in entertainment and more and more we see it in the world of entrepreneurship. The vast majority of our economic growth is coming from entrepreneurs working in small businesses across the country. It is hard work. It is not very glamorous. But, it has created economic independence for these entrepreneurs and the people working with them.

The same is true in music. There are thousands of songwriters and performers toiling away out there. Many are fortunate and have become successful enough to make a living at it.

The vast majority of entrepreneurs will not reach the heights of Gates, Dell, Jobs, and others whose little ventures grew into empires. In fact, most won't even make their local list of "leading entrepreneurs" in their community.

But, most entrepreneurs don't really care about fame and recognition. That is not what drives them. That is not how they measure their success.

What a blessing it is to be able to share in real success -- the songwriters who continue to hone their craft -- the entrepreneurs who pursue their passion and find fulfillment in the businesses they create.

Posted by Jeff Cornwall at 07:04 AM | Permalink

The New York Times has a story that shows just how far entrepreneurship has come in the past twenty-five years.

Undergraduate courses in how to start and run a small business are becoming as ubiquitous as Economics 101. Gone is the conventional wisdom that running a small business cannot be learned by sitting in a classroom.

According to the Kauffman Foundation in Kansas City, Mo., more than 2,000 colleges and universities now offer at least a class and often an entire course of study in entrepreneurship. That is up from 253 institutions offering such courses in 1985. More than 200,000 students are enrolled in such courses, compared with 16,000 in 1985.

I first started teaching as a graduate student in 1981 and had my first full-time teaching position in 1982. Although I helped to launch an entrepreneurship program where I taught, it met with significant resistance from faculty, parents and even many students. I left in teaching in 1988 in part because I was frustrated by how resistant business schools were to teaching entrepreneurship and small business.

Entrepreneurship education come a long way in a short time when you consider the glacial pace of change in academia.

(Thanks to soon to be alumnae of Belmont and aspiring social entrepreneur, Janice Dotti, for passing this along).

Posted by Jeff Cornwall at 06:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)