Has the trend of "forced entrepreneurship" come to a screeching halt?
A newly released study from outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc. shows that an average of 3.7 percent of job seekers surveyed opted to start their own business in the first half of 2010, down from 7.6 percent in the first half of 2009 and the 9.6 percent averaged over the last two quarters of 2009.The 3.4 percent start-up rate in the first quarter and the 3.9 percent rate in the second quarter represent the lowest two-quarter average recorded since Challenger started tracking startup plans among job seekers in 1986.
It could be that there are fewer potential entrepreneurs among job seekers because private sector employment has been edging upward in the past six months (despite the losses of public sector jobs). Or that fewer people are willing to risk starting a business during a recession. Or that people who want to start businesses can't find capital sources.
Whatever the reason, I think it's a good thing. I have always been skeptical of the forced entrepreneurship trend. From people I have met and coached, my conclusion is that, more often than not, job seekers turn to entrepreneurship more because their job search skills are lacking than their entrepreneurship desires are kicking in. When I coach would-be entrepreneurs who have been laid off from a job, the first question I ask is whether they'd rather have a job they love, or start a business. Easily half would opt for the job. So they should focus on getting a great job, and doing it the right way.
What's your view? Did you start a business after looking for a job? How did it work out? Please leave a comment.
I think having a job you love in the form of your own business is great too! I think we all would rather have the job we love without the hassles of running a business, but sometimes you only get the job you love by running your own business. Everything has pluses and minuses; it just depends on which is more.
You are right about the job search skills. Sharp job skills are more important than ever right now with a huge glutton of job seekers. It’s just tough right now for those without a job.
I think a deeper dive into the statistics might be useful as many of the laid off are older and are becoming increasingly pessimistic of finding a job. Having used much of their savings already in a 1-3 year job search, they have neither financial nor emotional resources to support them in starting a business and are focused on simply surviving.
If you have an entrepreneurial heart and starting your own business is all you’ve ever wanted to do, then no recession and no job position is going to stop you from becoming entrepreneurial.
Entrepreneurs who hold regular jobs are known as intrapreneurs (or rabble rousers to their peers!). These are the very kind of people who end up launching a business in the middle of a recession or during their “off hours”, because they can’t help being inventive, innovative and risk-seeking.
At their regular jobs, they’re the leaders in project management and execution. They cut their teeth with other people’s monies before starting their own ventures. That’s how they mitigate startup risk.
Like I said, they can’t help be entrepreneurial.