Posted on 10/03/2008 7:22:15 AM PDT by george76
30 years ago, huge corporations dominated the business world...the seismic shifts that turned America into a nation of entrepreneurs.
entrepreneurship has become a popular aspiration. A September 2005 Baylor University study reports that since 1980, more than 5 million jobs have disappeared from Fortune 500 companies, while 34 million new jobs were created at small businesses.
Also, the number of small businesses increased from 14.7 million in 1977 to nearly 32 million last year, according to IRS tax returns. Today, one in 12 adults is actively involved in starting a business, and more than 60 percent of 18- to 29-year-olds say they aim to own their own business.
"Entrepreneurship," ... "has emerged over the last two decades as arguably the most potent economic force the world has ever experienced."
Power to the Business People
(Excerpt) Read more at entrepreneur.com ...
A few of the others who are sane and are going through the same stuff are talking a lot going off on thier own too next year.
I would rather have more control over my life anyway as opposed to being thought of as property which is the dominant mentality around here.
I’m starting my new company this month - for me it’s a return to the way I used to work. There are plenty of rent-seekers at all levels of government standing in your way, but it’s still better than being somebody’s employee.
Well, that's encouraging.
A magazine dedicated to individual initiative claims that women and minorities succeed in business only because of mandates and quotas imposed by the Federal government.
I agree with the premise, but the article is mostly about women and minorities starting new businesses?
To me, Small Business is one of the least encouraged aspects of the Modern Economy, they have little lobbying power compared to the International Companies.
The Small Business Association has announced that an astonishing 52% of all businesses in this country are home based and that in 2005 they accounted for 10% of the national economy’s total receipts. Imagine- there are 8,500 home based business start-ups daily!
Before the 1930’s and the advent of the New Deal, the administrative machinations for running the family business were no where near as complex and far reaching as they are today with our puzzling tax codes, business regulation and legal complications. In those good old days, if you wanted to sell milk out of the family farm barn door, you just did it. Today we are fined, sued, blackballed, and held liable and maybe arrested.
http://www.virtualvocations.com/viewcontent/id/242/small-businesses.html
” Limited Liability Companies are a popular arrangement for many start-up businesses. L.L.C.’s offer single taxation benefits... The arrangement’s primary advantage is that the owner or partners do not incur personal liability. Instead, any such liabilities are the responsibility of the company. If sued, they can come after your business but not your house...”
mandates and quotas imposed by the Federal government are awful.
Also we taxpayers lose our tax dollars as grants, etc. to their ‘set aside’ schemes.
I took a lot of small business administration stuff years ago and amazingly enough remember more than I thought I did.
I have to get past this lousy year of financial agony to have some money to upgrade my DSLR, digital camcorders, and editing software.
A lot of thanks to Craigslist in a lot of respects as it has helped me a lot in campaigning for side gigs, refining my pitches, some extra income when I get selected, making a few connections, ideas for expansion, other places to investigate and in the end boosting confidence in myself. I needed the last as much as any of them. It has been a rough ride here. The worst part is not being able to do much about it due to endless rules and forms. I tend to operate best when not tied down a lot.
Even if I had to work part time or do some short term contract stuff from time to time to stay afloat, it wouldn't bother me a whole lot. I have been in far worse jams.
Being self employeed with multiple clients works well for those of us not afraid of hard work and nimble thinking.
We then own most of the rewards and failures.
I got used to juggling multiple productions and other routine functions at my old job in the videotape section when everyone either was sent out or called in sick. I would be left on my own for usually days on end. After the day was over, although beat, I generally felt a sense of accomplishment even if no one in upper management (with a couple of exceptions)harldy ever noticed.
Most employers are cutting out pensions, which is a huge reduction in salary for most people.
Employers have almost reduced medical plans to the point that you can just about buy it yourself outside the company. Once it gets to the point that companies aren’t paying for enough healthcare to keep working there then there won’t be much reason to work for a large corporation anymore.
Most kids I know don’t want to work for some big corporation and get all the PC crap and entrenched bureaucracy that comes with it.
Yes, I formed an LLC this time - I was a sole proprietor before. The world’s gotten too litigious - especially entering a down economy. I expect a lot of people will try to make a living suing each other.
That 52 per cent figure doesn’t even include the drug dealers. ;’)
Thanks geo.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.