

558,000 small businesses. Why we should thank the recession. - miksam
http://blog.crowdspring.com/2010/06/558000-startups-and-small-businesses-why-we-should-thank-the-recession/

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sqs
Unfortunately, this may just be caused by companies reclassifying existing
workers and postponing the hiring of new full-time employees, instead
preferring "contractors." See
[http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/02/opinion/02reich.html?pagew...](http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/02/opinion/02reich.html?pagewanted=all).

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vaksel
the question is how many of these are actual startups, and how many of these
are "consulting" companies, that people started in order to get/keep a job

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jaxn
I agree that many of these being people hustling for a buck and not starting a
business.

The other thing is, shouldn't we wait to see if these businesses are
successful before we start saying it is a good thing for the economy?

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yummyfajitas
What's the difference between "hustling for a buck" and "starting a business"?

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jaxn
The intention? Not everyone who is now "working for themselves" is trying to
start a business. Take my house cleaner for instance, she would rather have a
job and has no intention to grow her business or be in it long term.

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dean
"... studies have shown that the historical failure rate for new businesses is
50% over five years ..."

I've always heard that the failure rate for new businesses was closer to 90%.
(I don't have the sources to back that up, but neither does he.)

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EzGraphs
IF the free market is a "Good Thing" AND Big Government and Big Business can
AND you are able THEN Go start a small Business END

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tjmaxal
Even after you weed out all the consultants and what not, how many of these
are actually sellable businesses? And how many are things like photo studios,
etc?

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rosskimbarovsky
A photo studio is a small business. Many are successful. Why wouldn't such a
business count as a viable startup/business?

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tjmaxal
Companies like most photo studios aren't really companies at all, they are
just jobs for the founders. they can't grow beyond the work capacity of the
individual. They have no real value beyond their assets.

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tjmaxal
Is it really a company if it's revenue goes to zero when the owner retires, or
takes a vacation, what if they get hurt and are unable to work Does the
company keep making money? If it makes money with out the owner doing all the
work then it's a company if the owner MUST work to make it generate revenue
then it's really just a job.

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Tamerlin
So you're basically saying that if the founder(s) have to do actual work in
order to maintain profitability than it's not a company?

I should also point out that there are quite a few successful photography
photography studios that not only have employees, but also pass their business
down to successors, so they DO outlive their founders.

In the end, it's honest work for honest pay, which in my experience is not the
case in IT, which is usually a waste of talent. I've worked in the IT industry
for 17 years as a software developer, and most of what I've seen is that most
of the developers in the industry make up for a complete lack of talent and
skill with a lot of hackery and long hours.

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askask
Great stuff.

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westbywest
While it's great that people can be resourceful and ingenuous in times of
duress, it's a bit off to praise the duress for that.

