Do you have what it takes to be an entrepreneur?

Hi again! Since, according to the SBA, more small businesses fail after 4 years than succeed, I thought it would be helpful to discuss the kind of qualities that you'll want to either already have or dedicate yourself to developing if you are thinking about starting your business or you are within that dangerous 4 year period!

Entrepreneurship in today's constantly changing business environment requires an understanding of cutting edge small business technology and the ability to harness it to generate enterprise growth and profitability. You'll want to take advantage of all the free help you can get, both from the government (http://www.SBDCnetwork.com), non profits like SCORE (http://www.SCORE.org), and local community colleges and universities that offer free or low cost training events.

I'm part of the Los Angeles Regional Network of SBDC, consulting and training people in how to write business plans, develop effective marketing and sales strategies, and general business diagnostics and turn arounds. I'm proud to say that our District Office lead all 68 SBA offices nationwide in providing $1.23 billion in capital to more than 5,100 entrepreneurs and furthered economic development through approximately 30,000 jobs that were either created or retained as a direct result of our help. We also led in financing 3,065 minority-owned businesses in the ammount of $617 million and 1,275 women-owned businesses for $200 million. Additionally, we assisted 64,000 individuals in 2006 with business training and procurement services.

So, what does all of this mean for you? If you're not working with your local SBDC (http://www.SBDCnetwork.com), you're missing out on A LOT of help!

And, if you are not sure if you have what it takes, a thoughtful SBDC counselor can help you do a self-assessment as part of your ongoing counseling they provide, FREE OF CHARGE! You've already paid for the program through your tax dollars, you might as well use our services!