entrepreneurship – Career Life Institute

Successful Entrepreneurship â€“ Achieving the American Dream

Note: This article was written in 1999, but the trends continue along the same lines, making it relevant today.

Did you know the number of women owned businesses increased 89% over the past decade to an estimated 8.5 million? Or that during that time they generated $3.1 trillion in revenue, a 209% increase after adjusting for inflation? The Small Business Administration’s Office on Advocacy recently completed their Women in Business statistical report, and concludes that the projected growth rate through the year 2000 and beyond will continue to outpace the overall rate of businesses in the United States.

For those of us in business, it’s truly an exciting time. For those of us considering our own business, help can be found. Organizations such as the North Coast Small Business Develop Center (NCSBDC) and the Women Entrepreneurs Institute often sponsor entrepreneurship courses to assist budding entrepreneurs to overcome barriers and pitfalls on the road to success.

By the year 2000, it’s expected that women-owned sole proprietorships will number 7.1 million, or 35% of all sole proprietorships, an increase of 33% over the preceding decade, compared to an overall increase of 23%. The Office of Advocacy also estimates that by the year 2005, there will be 4.7 million self-employed women, an increase of 77% since 1983, along with an increase of 6% in self-employed men. More and more of us are opting to be our own bosses.

But where do you start? How do you get going so you can be part of the growing numbers of entrepreneurs and self-employed? What if you’re not sure about your business idea? Identifying and tapping into your resources is the way to start. Taking a course in entrepreneurship or business plan writing will give you the opportunity to clearly identify your business concept and what it has to offer; to research and analyze your markets, your customers and your competition; to fully develop your business plan; and to consider how much cash you need to get started and keep going.

Extensive resource materials are available from the Small Business Development Centers and the Western Entrepreneurial Network at the University of Colorado (Denver). Although it may initially seem to be a lot of work, when you take the time to research and develop the specific components of your business plan you will create the necessary foundation to start a new business or restructure an existing business for growth and expansion. And completing a business plan is essential to secure the funding you need.

A good course will help you define your dream. It will include real world experience and advice from local business owners who have successfully faced the same challenges. And along the way, you must use your networking skills to begin to build your own support network of business and financial professionals from among the other participants, speakers and the business world.

Nearly three-quarters of all women-owned firms accessed some type of credit in 1993, with one half using traditional loans and 60% using nontraditional sources. Whether you’re just starting up, or expanding an existing business, cash is still king (or queen). A good course will cover cash flow issues and financial statements, and provide some kind of access to representatives from local financial institutions who can explain available funding sources and share information about what is needed from you to access these resources. Your local SBDC will also be able to provide feedback on various aspects of your business plan. They may even have automated business plan software that can assist in putting your plan together into a professional package.

Not surprisingly, more than 60% of women-owned businesses were operated in the home when they were first established. With the use of today’s technology, and one really good idea, anyone can be “up and running” in a short time. If you or someone you know has an interest in fulfilling your own American Dream of becoming an entrepreneur, entrepreneurial training can be an inexpensive way to insure you learn how to build the foundation and network for success.

By Katie Darden
(Note: If you would like more information about local classes e-mail the Career Life Institute at info@careerlife.net,

Book Summaries: Unlimited Wealth and God Wants You to be Rich

Traditional economics says that whoever controls the world's natural resources and essential commodities controls the world. This also means that if there are only limited resources, one person's gain must be another person's loss; the richer one person is, the poorer his neighbors must be.

Economist Paul Pilzer argues that today we do not live in a resource-scarce environment – that in fact accelerated technological development has virtually eliminated scarcity. We live in a world today that Pilzer calls an Alchemic world – a world where the opportunities are unlimited, and wealth is not a finite pie to be cut up.

Just as the alchemists of old attempted to create gold from base metals, today we are able to create great value (and ultimately great wealth) from mundane and otherwise "worthless" resources. Today we can even make "computers from dirt". So what's the magic ingredient? Technology.

In 1972, the Club of Rome, a consortium of scientists, industrialists, politicians and world thinkers from 25 countries issued The Limits to Growth, a doom and gloom report warning that among other things, the world's oil resources would only last another 40 years at then current rates of consumption. Fifteen years later the reserves were estimated at nearly twice what the anticipated amount should have been.

As we enter the last years of this century, the effective supply of energy reserves by 2000 is anticipated to be 50% larger than it was in 1980. The same is true of most other commodities. So how did this happen? Technology.

First by improving our abilities to find, obtain, distribute, and store resources, and second by improving the efficiency with which we use the resources. In the case of automobiles, the simple act of replacing $300 carburetors with $25 fuel injectors doubled the fuel efficiency of new cars by 35% in less than a decade.

And, as supplies increase and technology improves, the price of products becomes less. So the relative price of oil has come back down from the huge increases of the 70's. This also shows up as being able to get more car for the price, and cars that last longer with less repairs. When's the last time someone in your office called in late because of a flat tire or a blowout? Even tires are lasting longer now.

Pilzer's optimistic books include several examples of how the principles of Alchemy work, and how to create wealth by closing the gap between the level of technology currently being used and level that is available. He is an economist I can agree with and he writes so that others can understand.

I highly recommend using these books to begin closing your own technology gap and finding ways to work smarter. By his own explanation, Unlimited Wealth is geared more towards the economist, while God Wants You to Be Rich has plenty of specific examples for the businessperson or budding entrepreneur.

Summaries by Katie Darden

God Wants You to be Rich
(Hardback) or (Paperback)

Unlimited Wealth
The Theory and Practice of
Economic Alchemy

Create Your Own Job Through Entrepreneurship

Let me begin by sharing an updated version of the Cinderella story.

When the Wicked Stepmother stood at Cinderella's door, she saw Cinderella working on a stack of papers very intently instead of sweeping the floor. Her curiosity was aroused, and she asked Cinderella what she was working on.

Cinderella quickly replied, "Job options. I'm thinking about starting my own business so I can expand my horizons and create money at the same time."

"But what about Prince Charming," the Wicked Stepmother replied.

"Oh, I'd still love to meet him. I could use a partner in life as well as business!" Cinderella cheerfully responded.

As for the rest of the story, the Wicked Stepmother soon realized Cinderella was no longer a "wimp" and was seizing control of her own future. She decided to stop picking on Cinderella and began spending more time looking at her own life—exploring creative job options for herself.

As for Prince Charming, well eventually he did meet Cinderella and was instantly charmed by her aliveness and sense of purpose as well as her obvious business management skills. Eventually he became one of her financial backers in business and Cinderella became a very successful Woman Entrepreneur—and everyone lived happily ever after.

This new version of Cinderella is perhaps more relevant than ever to present day. We are all challenged by changing economic times where jobs are tight and too many large organizations seem to be downsizing instead of hiring. This is definitely a time to be creative in looking at different ways to earn money—different ways to create a job.

Starting your own business is one creative option that more and more people are seriously looking at, especially women. Many organizations, such as the Women Entrepreneurs Roundtable and WomenPreneursOnline have been formed over the past few years to help women explore the option of starting their own businesses.

Traditionally, women have been geared to work as employees and homemakers. More and more women, however, are becoming aware that they do have additional options—and one option is to start their own businesses.

Many women have become experts in juggling a multitude of roles by balancing work and family life, and many of these skills are transferable to managing a successful business.

Starting a business from scratch can be rewarding experience. It offers freedom and the chance to integrate one's interests and talents with making money. Besides being one of the toughest and potentially most rewarding careers, it is possibly one of the last frontiers for real independence and creativity.