ABSTRACT “Small businesses” are often lauded as the backbone of the American economy. Politicians... more ABSTRACT “Small businesses” are often lauded as the backbone of the American economy. Politicians from both sides of the aisle proclaim their commitment to fostering small business in the United States and its importance. However, as is so often the case in policy debates, individual voices can be lost in high-level discussions over tax breaks and business aid programs. In the spirit of investigating the thoughts of actual business owners, we decided to examine a recent survey from Thumbtack.com, with the intent of lending some perspective and context to the debate over how best to aid small and new businesses in the United States. When Thumbtack conducted a large-scale survey of small business owners and service providers in late 2011 and early 2012, it included this open-ended question: “Please let us know any experiences or thoughts you have regarding the ease of doing business in your state.” Of the 6,730 respondents to the Thumbtack survey, 36.6 percent provided feedback to the open-ended question. This report qualitatively analyzes these business owners’ unfettered thoughts on issues they felt important and explores several themes that arose. The findings provide important insights for state policymakers when considering how to make their states appealing to and supportive of small business owners.The trends apparent from the responses do not necessarily echo the narrative often told about the problems business owners face in the United States. Even in these times of difficult political and fiscal issues, states can take concrete steps to support business owners and improve business friendliness.
ABSTRACT Research carried out or supported by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation confirms that ... more ABSTRACT Research carried out or supported by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation confirms that new and young firms generate a disproportionately large share of net job creation in the U.S. economy. However, even before the recession and since, the job-creating engine of startups (those less than five years old) has been slowing down. This not only is unhelpful on the job front, but, because major technological advances are disproportionately commercialized by new firms, it portends slower growth in living standards in the future if startup trends are not reversed. In July 2011, the Kauffman Foundation published the “Startup Act,” a menu of federal policy ideas aimed at promoting the formation and growth of new businesses in the United States. In addition to federal policy - which is preeminent on a number of issues - new businesses also navigate state-level laws and regulations. This document is designed to provide state policymakers with a similar menu of initiatives at the state level to reinforce any policies that promote entrepreneurial growth at the federal level. The fundamental premise behind these ideas, as well as this entire document, is that states and their citizens are better off encouraging the formation and growth of new companies, rather than pursuing the timeworn and cost-ineffective approach of competing for the headquarters and/or expansions of existing firms (sometimes referred to as “smokestack chasing”). The menu provided in this essay is not offered as a “one-size-fits-all” prescription, but rather as simply a list of ideas from which state policymakers can choose and adapt to suit the needs of their particular states. Where possible and available, we note the empirical evidence relating to these proposals. But, for the most part, the proposals are new or sufficiently recent not to have a strong empirical base. They reflect, therefore, our collective judgment of what is most likely to work in terms of supporting new firm formation. States should thus adopt or adapt them in a spirit of experimentation, being ready, as entrepreneurs themselves would be, to refine them as they gain more experience, or even to jettison some ideas in favor of others. In the same vein, states and their citizens must become comfortable with the inherent messiness and turbulence of entrepreneurial growth: It is part of the process that some new firms will grow, while others will die or shrink. On balance, however, the evidence is clear: Entrepreneurial growth is key to the growth of net new jobs and of major advances in living standards. We have organized the proposals by stage of the entrepreneurial process: encouraging and training entrepreneurs to take the often-audacious step of launching a business, measures to facilitate the actual launch of new ventures, and nurturing the growth of these new firms.
ABSTRACT Developed as part of “The Ascent of America’s High-Growth Companies,” a Kauffman Foundat... more ABSTRACT Developed as part of “The Ascent of America’s High-Growth Companies,” a Kauffman Foundation report series that analyzes geographic trends of Inc. 500 companies from 1982-2010, these profiles reveal state-specific trends in growth or decline of Inc. firms over three decades. The profiles also compare Inc. companies’ presence in each state’s Metropolitan Statistical Areas and industrial sectors.
... The National Nanotechnology Initiative: Federal support for science and technology, or hidden... more ... The National Nanotechnology Initiative: Federal support for science and technology, or hidden industrial policy? Yasuyuki Motoyama a , Corresponding Author Contact Information , E-mail The Corresponding Author , Richard Appelbaum b and Rachel Parker c , 1 [Author vitae]. ...
ABSTRACT “Small businesses” are often lauded as the backbone of the American economy. Politicians... more ABSTRACT “Small businesses” are often lauded as the backbone of the American economy. Politicians from both sides of the aisle proclaim their commitment to fostering small business in the United States and its importance. However, as is so often the case in policy debates, individual voices can be lost in high-level discussions over tax breaks and business aid programs. In the spirit of investigating the thoughts of actual business owners, we decided to examine a recent survey from Thumbtack.com, with the intent of lending some perspective and context to the debate over how best to aid small and new businesses in the United States. When Thumbtack conducted a large-scale survey of small business owners and service providers in late 2011 and early 2012, it included this open-ended question: “Please let us know any experiences or thoughts you have regarding the ease of doing business in your state.” Of the 6,730 respondents to the Thumbtack survey, 36.6 percent provided feedback to the open-ended question. This report qualitatively analyzes these business owners’ unfettered thoughts on issues they felt important and explores several themes that arose. The findings provide important insights for state policymakers when considering how to make their states appealing to and supportive of small business owners.The trends apparent from the responses do not necessarily echo the narrative often told about the problems business owners face in the United States. Even in these times of difficult political and fiscal issues, states can take concrete steps to support business owners and improve business friendliness.
ABSTRACT Research carried out or supported by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation confirms that ... more ABSTRACT Research carried out or supported by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation confirms that new and young firms generate a disproportionately large share of net job creation in the U.S. economy. However, even before the recession and since, the job-creating engine of startups (those less than five years old) has been slowing down. This not only is unhelpful on the job front, but, because major technological advances are disproportionately commercialized by new firms, it portends slower growth in living standards in the future if startup trends are not reversed. In July 2011, the Kauffman Foundation published the “Startup Act,” a menu of federal policy ideas aimed at promoting the formation and growth of new businesses in the United States. In addition to federal policy - which is preeminent on a number of issues - new businesses also navigate state-level laws and regulations. This document is designed to provide state policymakers with a similar menu of initiatives at the state level to reinforce any policies that promote entrepreneurial growth at the federal level. The fundamental premise behind these ideas, as well as this entire document, is that states and their citizens are better off encouraging the formation and growth of new companies, rather than pursuing the timeworn and cost-ineffective approach of competing for the headquarters and/or expansions of existing firms (sometimes referred to as “smokestack chasing”). The menu provided in this essay is not offered as a “one-size-fits-all” prescription, but rather as simply a list of ideas from which state policymakers can choose and adapt to suit the needs of their particular states. Where possible and available, we note the empirical evidence relating to these proposals. But, for the most part, the proposals are new or sufficiently recent not to have a strong empirical base. They reflect, therefore, our collective judgment of what is most likely to work in terms of supporting new firm formation. States should thus adopt or adapt them in a spirit of experimentation, being ready, as entrepreneurs themselves would be, to refine them as they gain more experience, or even to jettison some ideas in favor of others. In the same vein, states and their citizens must become comfortable with the inherent messiness and turbulence of entrepreneurial growth: It is part of the process that some new firms will grow, while others will die or shrink. On balance, however, the evidence is clear: Entrepreneurial growth is key to the growth of net new jobs and of major advances in living standards. We have organized the proposals by stage of the entrepreneurial process: encouraging and training entrepreneurs to take the often-audacious step of launching a business, measures to facilitate the actual launch of new ventures, and nurturing the growth of these new firms.
ABSTRACT Developed as part of “The Ascent of America’s High-Growth Companies,” a Kauffman Foundat... more ABSTRACT Developed as part of “The Ascent of America’s High-Growth Companies,” a Kauffman Foundation report series that analyzes geographic trends of Inc. 500 companies from 1982-2010, these profiles reveal state-specific trends in growth or decline of Inc. firms over three decades. The profiles also compare Inc. companies’ presence in each state’s Metropolitan Statistical Areas and industrial sectors.
... The National Nanotechnology Initiative: Federal support for science and technology, or hidden... more ... The National Nanotechnology Initiative: Federal support for science and technology, or hidden industrial policy? Yasuyuki Motoyama a , Corresponding Author Contact Information , E-mail The Corresponding Author , Richard Appelbaum b and Rachel Parker c , 1 [Author vitae]. ...
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