A great quote from a blog written by Charles Payne. 

"Last night I interviewed Jim Clifton, CEO of Gallup and author of "The Coming Jobs War." He made the excellent point that we must promote entrepreneurship even more than the notion of innovation in this country...There is something special about entrepreneurs that should be coaxed, nurtured, and encouraged. If we are to believe the rhetoric of the SOTU and this campaign season, government can replace entrepreneurs and incubate the next great American business. It can't." 

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A recent survey funded by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation finds that the young millennial generation has a strong desire to start small businesses...

In a beleaguered economy, the country needs entrepreneurs - the nation's job creators. Fortunately, a recent poll shows that the so-called millennial generation - those ages 18-34 - are an entrepreneurial bunch. A few key barriers are holding them back, especially the economy.The nationwide cell phone and landline survey, conducted by the Young Invincibles in conjunction with Lake Research Partners and Bellwether Research and funded by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, polled 872 millennials on their thoughts about the economy and entrepreneurship. "This poll reveals a generation that is enthusiastic about entrepreneurship, and that is good news for the U.S.," said Carl Schramm, president and CEO of the Kauffman Foundation, "Fifty-four percent of the nation's millennials either want to start a business or already have started one. They recognize that entrepreneurship is the key to reviving the economy." (continued here)

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You could literally head down to the county clerk's office and start a business over your lunch break. In fact, in the next hour you could file for a corporation on the Secretary of State's website, pay the $300 filing fee, and BAM, you're in business. Of course, there are several other details to take care of (EIN # from the IRS, sales tax # from the State Comptroller, etc), but most of that can be done quickly online as well. It turns out that starting a business is no more difficult than getting a driver's license. And thankfully, you don't have to deal with the folks down at the DMV.  [more]

Business formations in this country are growing five times as fast as the population. There is now one business for every seven people. Some predict that in twenty years, there will be one business for every three people. This is good news. Gone are the days of graduating from college, going to work for big business, and retiring forty years later with a gold watch and a full pension. The world doesn't work that way anymore. Somewhere along the way, things began to shift. Probably somewhere around 1984 to 1994. In that decade American Bell Telephone Company cut their workforce by 120,000 people, Metropolitan Life Insurance Company laid off 10,000 workers, and Kodak let 20,000 people go. I could go on. As Thomas Friedman says, the world is getting flatter. [more]

Historically, economic development has been a three-legged stool: recruitment, retention, and expansion. Now more than ever, entrepreneur development is becoming the fourth leg of that that stool. Unfortunately, few measures exist for rural regions to gauge their entrepreneurial assets. We recently read a book entitled "Entrepreneurship and Local Economic Development". An interesting quote in the book comes from The Secretary of Commerce; [more]