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Business Ownership The American Dream

Written by: Anne Barr

Article Overview: What is it that attracts more and more people to become business owners? What happens to bring that Entrepreneurial spirit to the forefront? Not only do Entrepreneurs embody the American Dream, they drive our economy and our future.

Business Ownership The American Dream

What is it that attracts more and more people to become business owners? What happens to bring that Entrepreneurial spirit to the forefront?

Not only do Entrepreneurs embody the American Dream, they drive our economy and our future.

Today’s corporate mergers create additional opportunities for many to take the “big step” into business ownership. More and more talented individuals in the 40-60 age group are finding great difficulty in their search to replace the position and income they enjoyed in their previous employment. What are these “breadwinners” to do when they are too young to retire and many have one or more children in college? A high percentage will seriously look into business ownership.

As increasing numbers seriously explore business ownership, assuming they are qualified financially, we find the largest roadblock to be...RISK.

R – Research = Reward
I - Insecurity with volatile job market
S - Success is Not Guaranteed
K – Knowledge and Self Confidence to build an asset

Obviously, there are no guarantees. Of course, running a business takes talent and skill.
Reducing the risk is accomplished by research and due diligence. As with any major decision in life, an individual will at first emotionally buy the business, then justify with the facts. The fear factor is rationalized by the confidence a person has in his/her transferable skills and the vision to build something……an asset to pass on to the next generation, put a manager in place and back away when the time is right, or even sell when they choose.

It’s all about timing. I met many of my clients over a year ago. Sometimes people will interview for jobs and look into business ownership at the same time. You can’t give 100% effort by going down two paths at once. Occasionally, a client will take a position that is less than preferred, because the frustration of the search has taken its toll. However, when they are downsized AGAIN, they decide the timing is right to end the job insecurity by moving forward into business ownership. No glass ceilings, no corporate agendas, no corporate politics…..simply more independence and a chance to control their destiny...a chance to build something by working for “self” rather than someone else.

The American Dream – is it in your future?

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Article Tags: business ownership, entrepreneur, franchise opportunities



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My entry - 1. The Best Business Books Ever: The 100 Most Influential Business Books You'll Never Have Time to Read - this is a fascinating book about the history of Business theory, and I'd recommend it to anybody. 2. The Big Book of Small Business: You Don't Have to Run Your Business by the Seat of Your Pants, by Tom Gegax. Ditto. 3. PADI: The Business of Diving Book Okay, so this book won't be of use to anyone who doesn't want to start a scuba store, but I did, and this book was of course invaluable to me in reaching that goal.
Top 19 Copywriting books - 1. Ogilvy on Advertising. David Ogilvy. Wiley. 2. Positioning: The Battle for your Mind. Al Ries and Jack Trout. Warner. 3. The New Positioning. Jack Trout. McGraw-Hill. 4. Tested Advertising Methods. John Caples. Prentice-Hall. 5. How to Make your Advertising Make Money. John Caples. Prentice-Hall. 6. Guerrilla Advertising. Jay Conrad Levinson. Houghton Mifflin. 7. Direct Mail Copy that Sells. Herschell Gordon Lewis. Prentice-Hall. 8. Sales Letters that Sizzle. Herschell Gordon Lewis. NTC Business Books. 9. Herschell Gordon Lewis on the Art of Writing Copy. Herschell Gordon Lewis. Prentice-Hall. 10. Romancing the Brand. David Martin. American Management Association. 11. The Art of Writing Advertising: Conversations with William Bernbach, Leo Burnett, George Gribbin, David Ogilvy, Rosser Reeves. NTC Business Books. 12. Confessions of an Advertising Man. David Ogilvy. NTC Business Books. 13. My Life in Advertising. Claude Hopkins. NTC Business Books. 14. Scientific Advertising. Claude Hopkins. NTC Business Books. 15. How to Become an Advertising Man. James Webb Young. NTC Business Books. 16. The Lasker Story as He Told It. NTC Business Books. 17. Advertising Concept and Copy. George Felton. Prentice Hall. 18. The Copy WorkShop Workbook. Bruce Bendinger. The Copy Workshop. 19. Hey, Whipple, Squeeze This: A Guide to Creating Great Ads. Luke Sullivan. Wiley. This should keep you busy for at least a year. Enjoy!
Re: Are Economic Recessions Good for Franchising? - [quote="RussellWebb":6xh1ztbv]As I understand it, when there are more corporate layoffs you have more workers looking into starting their own business. It makes sense in a backwards sort of way. My first impression is that Franchising would take a hit like everyone else... but the more I look into it: [i:6xh1ztbv]The opposite occurs[/i:6xh1ztbv]. There's a larger pool of very qualified workers that are disenchanted with the corporate world. They are often more than willing to take a bigger risk and seek self-employment, whether it's a franchise or not. In my opinion, there are lots of good opportunities out there, it's just a matter of doing your research and finding a nice fit.[/quote:6xh1ztbv] I agree with Russell. Initially everything looks like its taking a slight to moderate (and in some cases very "moderate") hit. But owning your own business is really (not to be cheesy) what the American Dream is all about - and this can most definitely be done in the cast of a successful franchise business. If you just think of a franchise as a very successful business plan, isn't that a pretty good place to start?
Off to get married, Congrats - Hi Evan, I am married over 34 years. So go for the long haul. It's worth it every minute. I hope you will have a 24/7 time away from the Forum. Forget all about it and enjoy each other. Your Dream begins..... Regards Beat
Re: New Funding Source Now LIVE! - [quote="ideasuniversity":3lio17iz]I have checked the site and it seems it for American Entrepreneurs only. Please correct me if I am wrong[/quote:3lio17iz] You are correct. I wanted to limit it to the U.S. in order to keep the legalities more simplified and under control. Also, there are plenty of other organizations doing their part to help the "world". I was interested in helping my own neighbors and fellow American entrepreneurs.


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