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Preface

WE ALL HEAR OF THE MONSTER SUCCESS STORIES of big business blaring from our 24/7 media machines that have engulfed our country. This onslaught fires the engine for any would-be business owner who has a great idea revving up or has the drive to buy a business. Oftentimes, it can also agitate current owners of successful or stalled-out businesses on how to drive their enterprise to their dreamed-of winner’s circle.

The motivation is there, but what is their yellow-brick road?

America is a land of three generations. The online, app-driven generation lives in an exploding world where anything is possible and the blocking and tackling business of yore has become passé. The focus of this new generation, whose members immediately need to jump quickly before becoming eclipsed, has led to a pell-mell and frenetic world of go, go, go! Each day, their sector ripples with excitement of untold riches to be had yet deep-seated concerns of being passed by like-minded leaders on the field.

The older generation, where over 20 percent of new businesses are being formed, comprises those over age fifty. These individuals are predominantly not of the new tech generation, fueled by social media mania. They are executives from the blocking-and-tackling world that has been eclipsed by world developments. These potential business owners have a nest egg they can put into play for one last shot at making a financial windfall, or perhaps they have been downsized or become irrelevant by someone else’s standard. They bring old-world sensibility to the entrepreneurial ranks.

The middle generation is citizens with a leg in each world. They feel the magnetic pull of the social media/app generation yet also worked within the hip business culture of technology fostered in the eighties and nineties. They are a bi-product of the offshore exodus that has morphed the US economy of small businesses into predominantly service-sector firms and are relegated to working at America’s surviving manufacturing entities with “just in time” capabilities.

Although the app generation understands and embraces the newest technologies, the older generations cannot be dismissed in the entrepreneurial world. Far from it. According to Whitney Johnson in “Entrepreneurs Get Better with Age”:

The average age of a successful entrepreneur in high-growth industries such as computers, health care, and aerospace is 40. Twice as many successful entrepreneurs are over 50 as under 25. The vast majority—75 percent— have more than six years of industry experience and half have more than 10 years when they create their startup,” says Duke University scholar Vivek Wadhwa, who studied 549 successful technology ventures. Meanwhile, data from the Kauffman Foundation indicates the highest rate of entrepreneurship in America has shifted to the 55-64 age group, with people over 55 almost twice as likely to found successful companies than those between 20 and 34.¹

All three generations are plunging into business ownership at a prodigious clip. Certainly the behemoth organizations that dominate the headlines are booming and growing rapidly, but most Americas dream of owning their own business. Never has there been a time in America’s history where more people want to become entrepreneurs or business owners. In the past, this quest for ownership was mostly the domain of the wealthy or tech driven, but now a myriad of reasons ranging from corporate downsizing and lack of viable new job opportunities to the easy ability to access cash are driving the thundering herd of would-be entrepreneurs.

A report issued by Babson and Baruch Colleges and mentioned in Forbes points to an exciting trend in the US. economy:

The percentage of adults involved in startups in 2012 hit 13%—a record high since Babson began tracking entrepreneurship rates in 1999.

Better yet, the vast majority of these folks started businesses to pursue opportunity, rather than out of necessity. A whopping 43 percent of Americans believe there are good opportunities for entrepreneurship, up by more than 20 percent since 2011 and the highest level recorded in the history of the study, called the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor U.S. report.²

Every year, I have been besieged by literally hundreds of prospective buyers, inventors, and other individuals seeking to start, own, or obtain an equity position in a smaller enterprise. Oftentimes my team views their drive for ownership with deep concern as many exhibit the lack of skill sets or understanding of market dynamics to become successful. To the vast majority of wannabes, we greatly discourage their quest, as most end in disaster. Though we admire their pluck, we see disaster looming for the under-funded and idealistic-driven dreams of owning your own business. Like the newborn turtles scuttling for the sea amid a gauntlet of perils, for these potential entrepreneurs, danger looms with every step.

Winning at Entrepreneurship is a guide to avoid these perils and maximize your ability to realize your dream of owning and eventually selling your business for a personal bonanza. Our business world is now geared to give individuals all the tools needed to realize their dreams. Banks, angel groups, and upward through the great industrial feeding chain are thousands of organizations that can assist and partner with entrepreneurs in their drive to own their own business

Eight major experts in the industry have shared their wisdom with me, and now with you; each has written a chapter in this book. All these contributors are in the field of play and have salient advice and information for the novice and experienced players alike.

Learning through the great deeds of others and clinically understanding the downfall of unfortunates can greatly assist entrepreneurs in their quest. This book exposes you to both through real life experiences while outlining thought processes to guide you in obtaining your dreams. But reading will take you only so far. In the end, your direct experience and connecting to the right sources will be keys to entering the winner’s circle.

NOTES

¹ Whitney Johnson, “Entrepreneurs Get Better with Age,” Harvard Business Review, June 27, 2013.

² Elaine Pofeldt, “U.S. Entrepreneurship Hits Record High,” Forbes, May 27, 2013.