Global Entrepreneurship Week, November 16-22nd 2009, 85 countries around the world participating
Global Entrepreneurship Week, a worldwide movement of entrepreneurial people, is taking place this week, November 16 – 22, 2009, with activities in the US as well as many other countries — 85 nations to be exact. From their Unleash Your Ideas / USA website…
For one week, millions of young people around the world will join a growing movement of entrepreneurial people, to generate new ideas and seek better ways of doing things. Countries across six continents are coming together to celebrate Global Entrepreneurship Week, an initiative to inspire young people to embrace innovation, imagination and creativity. To think big. To turn their ideas into reality. To make their mark.
It’s certainly a time for entrepreneurs across the United States and the globe to give back, to mentor, to share ideas and help young entrepreneurs realize their potential in building businesses, developing products and building jobs. How great is it that we can be talking about positive and uplifting news like this with the economy here in the U.S. being in recession and many people losing jobs, struggling with their finances and working hard to stay afloat.
There’s been a lot of discussion in the recent news lately about how the stimulus plan has created jobs and at what cost. We’ve seen many reports from it costing anywhere from $71,000 to $350,000 per job and even higher. The Kauffman Foundation, an organization that works to further understanding of the powerful economic impact of entrepreneurship and the major sponsor of Global Entrepreneurship Week, recently spoke out about job creation:
“Job creation is the number one issue facing families and policymakers during this economic recession, and this study shows that new businesses and entrepreneurs are the key factor in adding new jobs,” said Carl Schramm, president and CEO of the Kauffman Foundation. “If the U.S. economy is going to have a sustained recovery, it will be up to entrepreneurs to lead the way.”
There are some that believe that the stimulus plan has helped to both save and create jobs. But there is also the belief, shared by Schramm and others like myself, that entrepreneurs building small businesses are more effective at creating jobs for the long haul of sustained recovery and that if the stimulus plan would have put more money in the hands of small business owners, entrepreneurs would be the ones creating jobs. In my own company at Capital TechSearch, I can’t imagine what I could have been able to do with $70,000, $250,000, $350,000 or more in order to create solid jobs here in the Richmond and northern Virginia areas.
Last week, President Obama announced that he was holding a Job Creation Forum, which appears to be a step in the right direction but also seems like this should have been held months ago before the stimulus money was allocated elsewhere. In addition, with today’s AP newswire from Beijing, President Obama says that the purpose of the December 3rd summit is not to discuss ideas for job creation yet rather to talk to businesses still reluctant to hire and to encourage them to do so. But entrepreneurs, even with established businesses, are reluctant to take the risk of hiring especially with healthcare, additional taxes and other expenses looming while the economy is still in a vulnerable state and consumers or other businesses are no longer spending to the levels they once were.
Even BusinessWeek magazine has jumped on the bandwagon as well, sharing this article that includes the recent Kauffman Foundation Research study results about job growth — even coming from startups — and their article entitled, Why Global Entrepreneurship Week Matters.
No matter what economic numbers you believe, the bottom line is that entrepreneurs of both start-up companies and even more established small businesses are extremely valuable to our being able to improve and positively impact today’s economy. So it is even more important than ever that entrepreneurs learn from the business lessons of those who have gone before them, and pay attention to today’s changing economic environment to know exactly what’s dynamics are going to impact them in the next 3 months, 6 months and upcoming year that could make or break their business model and affect their cash flow, either positively or negatively.
As CEO of a successful IT recruiting and executive search firm, I never stop learning from business industry leaders and I always pay attention to the country’s economic situation, as well as listen to my closest advisors who really have the pulse on what’s happening in my industry and in business in general who can steer me in the right direction and avoid the pitfalls of running a business today. Global Entrepreneurship Week is instrumental to teaching entrepreneurs how to start and run successful businesses today to improve the economy, retain and create jobs both here in the United States and abroad.
