Dr Jeff Cornwall

1. CREDIT
REPORTS – How
many small employers in the last three years complained to a credit bureau
about an inaccurate entry(ies) on their business credit records?  (Vol. 7,
Iss. 7, Q#2a.)

2. HEALTH
CARE – How
many small employers spend 7.5 percent or more of payroll on employee health
care, including employee health insurance?  (Vol. 7, Iss. 3, Q#15).

3.
REINVESTMENT – How
many small business owners have an outstanding mortgage on their homes that was
taken out to reinvest in their business? (Vol. 8, Iss. 7, Q#18d.)

4. EMPLOYEE
TRAINING – How
many small employers in the last three years have obtained employee training
materials or programs from a trade or business association?  (Vol. 5, Iss.
1, Q#23a1.)

5. CELL
PHONES – How
many small employers changed business cell phone providers in the last three
years?  (Vol. 4, Iss. 8, Q#8e).

6. SBA – What
impression does the small employer population have of the U.S. Small Business
Administration?  (Vol. 6, Iss. 5, Q#3.)  

7. LOCATIONS
– How
many business locations, excluding building or job sites, do small businesses
occupy?  (Vol. 6, Iss. 3, Q#8a).

8. MORTGAGES
– How
many employing small business owners have an upside-down home mortgage, that
is, the mortgage is more than the value of the property?  (Vol. 8, Iss. 7,
Q#18c.)

9. FAMILY BUSINESS – What
is the method (start, purchase, inherit, etc.) that most family businesses used
to go into business?  (Vol. 2, Iss. 6, Q#12.).

My column in this week at the Tennessean I offer some tips on a home-based businesses:

Most new businesses start out of entrepreneurs’ homes. Whether at the kitchen table, out of a garage or in the basement, working at home is a great way to bootstrap a business by keeping overhead expenses low.

However, for those new entrepreneurs who are coming out of a career in corporate America, working from home can mean challenges and adjustments.
The first challenge is to keep your personal time and your work time from getting blurred.

As easy as it is to be connected to our work 24/7, your personal life and your business will suffer if you do not set clear boundaries of place and time to define working at home.

Set aside a “work place” in your home, a designated office, and only go there during predetermined working hours. Think of the walk down the hall or up the stairs as your commute.

Once you are there you are no longer at home, you are at the office.

It is best to have two computers — one for working at home and one for family and personal use — to make sure the boundaries are kept clear and consistent. Keep one computer in your home office, and put the other in your living space.

Teach The Family Well

Other challenges arise for home-based entrepreneurs who have families.

If you have children, teach them what I call the “Beaver Cleaver’s Dad Rule.” On the old sitcomLeave it to Beaver, Beaver’s dad, Ward Cleaver, had an office in their home.
The kids knew to only go in there when invited — and if they were invited it was usually because they were in trouble. The kids need to learn that all of the cool stuff in their parents’ office is not for their latest school project.

Have a cell phone or a second phone line that is only for business.

One of the cute things most 3-year-olds do is to try to answer the phone. They learn by imitating their parents, which can lead to embarrassing moments with clients.
It is easy to get distracted when working at home. Playing with your kids or hanging out with your spouse can sound like a lot more fun than the project you are working on. But, remember that your business is important to your family. It helps pay the bills.

Don’t try to hide that you work from home with your clients. Home-based businesses have become common not only for entrepreneurs, but also for many employees of large corporations. Eventually the kids will make enough noise or the dogs will bark while you are on the phone. Be up front, and let customers know that home is your workplace.

Finally, work with an accountant if you plan to deduct expenses on your tax return related to a home-based business. The IRS rules on this have gotten much stricter over the years, and currently there is an increase in audits being done on small businesses.

Yesterday our travels brought us to the Czech Republic.  We stayed last night in the small town of Cesky Kromlov.  Today we head to Prague, where we will stay for several days.

Entrepreneurship is a major economic driven in the Czech Republic.  According to the Global Monitor Report study from 2006:

• Eight percent of the adult population aged between 18 and 64 is involved in new entrepreneurial activity in the Czech Republic, which puts it among European countries with the highest entrepreneurial activity.
• Compared with other countries, the Czech Republic shows a high share of nascent entrepreneurs and of entrepreneurs who are actually running new businesses.
• In the Czech Republic the prevalence rate of early-stage entrepreneurs is 2.2 times higher for men than women. In established business ownership there are 2.4 times more male entrepreneurs than female ones.
• The most entrepreneurially-active individuals are people aged between 45 and 54. In established business ownership the situation in the Czech Republic matches the situation around the world, but in early-stage entrepreneurial activity this age group is quite significant. On the contrary, individuals over 55 years of age show very little involvement in early-stage entrepreneurial activity (less than two percent).
• Most entrepreneurial activity is based in Prague.
• Entrepreneurial activity is relatively low among students over 18 years of age (only 4.2 percent).
• New entrepreneurial activity is closely related to household income. In low-income households it is only about two percent. On the contrary, in households with high incomes it exceeds fifteen percent.

The large concentration of entrepreneurship in older, more economically prosperous people in the largest city of Prague is somewhat worrisome for the long-term economic outlook for the Czech Republic.

My biggest concern is the relatively low rate of young entrepreneurs.  There have been steps taken to decrease the red tape associated with starting a venture.  But, it seems much more will be required to build an entrepreneurial engine that can sustain this country into the coming decades, especially when we take into account the low birth rates in eastern Europe.

Aaron K. Chatterj, a member of Generation Y, has written a thoughtful commentary at the Philadelphia Inquirer on how his generation is facing the new economic reality:

…[W]ith the world facing the most serious economic crisis in a
generation, we are now the ones who need advice. The millennials (as members of
my generation are also known) now graduating from college face a dismal job
market. Ready or not, Generation Y – the multitasking, entrepreneurial
do-gooders alternately glorified and admonished by the rest of the generational
pyramid – is about to be put to the test.

Spending time with many Belmont University Gen Y students and those we are meeting in eastern Europe gives me great hope that this generation understands the challenges they face and is ready to pass the tests that lie ahead.  They are eager to lead us into a new era.

Here are some of our students during a visit to Corvinus University in Budapest.

I am blogging today from Budapest.  The level of early stage entrepreneurship in Hungary is 6.9% according to the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor of 2007. 

That same study showed that about 75% of ventures were opportunity based, while 25% were out of necessity.In talking with people here in Hungary I get the sense that this mix may be swinging toward more necessity based entrepreneurs as the economy here worsens.

According to an EU report, Hungary has the lowest opportunity-based entrepreneurial activity in the EU25.  This same report gives Hungary a low entrepreneurial activity and low entrepreneurial climate score. 

There seems to be a strong cultural component to this, as seen in this conclusion from the EU report:

Similar to the average European respondent, the Hungarian is more likely to prefer being an employee to being self-employed. However, Hungary stands out when it comes to the reasons for the respective preference: Hungarian respondents who prefer being an employee, more often than individuals in other countries, say it is because the right entrepreneurial climate (e.g. lack of a business opportunity, lack of finances or excessive red tape) does not exist. Likewise, Hungarians who prefer being self-employed, more often than individuals in other countries, cite economic reasons for this preference and not the freedom and independence that being self-employed entails.

I trust big corporations only slightly more than I trust big government.

A case in point…..

I have been getting my digital world organized prior to our departure today for my trip with two other faculty and 20 students to the Czech Republic, Germany, Austria, and Hungary.

First, I wanted to be able to have cell phone access.  I went to the Verizon store to see what I would need to do to get cell phone access.  (Note:  I do think Verizon has the best coverage, but they are still a big, clumsy bureaucratic corporation).  On two different visits to the store, I was assured that my phone would work just fine in the countries we would be traveling in. 

When I went there one last time to get the details, I was told that what I was told (if I was in fact told this, according to the new person) was incorrect.  I would need to rent a phone to work in that part of Europe.

So I called support and ordered a phone.  I asked if I should just buy a phone, but was assured that it would be WAY too expensive.

When I went to the Verizon store yesterday, a young man said, “Why are you going to rent a phone?  I can sell you a new one for just a little more that will work anywhere in the world.”  So I bought the phone and shipped the rental back.

Then I asked if I was all set for my laptop with my global modem they sold me.  “All set! Just insert it and you will be good to go,” I was assured.

Being a rather obsessive type, I called global support one last time to make sure I understood what the global modem would allow me to do.

“DON’T use if for anything but e-mails!!  And if you open e-mails do not, what ever you do, open any attachments!  If you blog or go to websites you will use all of your 100 MB in one day,” I was instructed. 

“That really stinks!”, I said to the person on the line.

She told me that if I do use the Verizon modem for blogging I could expect thousands or even tens of thousands in charges.  “YIKES!!,” I exclaimed.

Good thing I never trust what people who work in big institutions tell me!

I tell you all this story so you will be understanding if I don’t blog as much as usual, and as much as I had hoped, during the next three weeks in eastern Europe.

When I find a hot spot or stay in a hotel with Internet I will blog, I promise.  

We had our Entrepreneurship Banquet for the Center for Entrepreneurship here at Belmont.  It was a night to celebrate the many accomplishments of our students.  We had a full house of students alumni, family, community supporters, faculty and staff join together for this wonderful event — over 130 people attended.

Here are many of the members of the team we just took out to Anaheim.

Special honors were given to John Price and Sam Dryden and their venture Lifetime Reel, who were named our Student Entrepreneurs of the Year for 2009.

John and Sam’s business is making family documentaries.  So as a special thank you to the Moench Family, who have endowed our entrepreneurship speakers series, we gave them a certificate to have a documentary done to commemorate their father who was a very successful entrepreneur here in Nashville.

Here are his two sons, Ernie and Lynn, who attend many of the events their family make possible through their give to our Center.