May

31

America loves entrepreneurs? Don’t kid yourself

May 31, 2007 |

You know, there’s a lot of talk about what an entrepreneurial culture we have here (as opposed to an entrepreneurial economy) but I’m beginning to think that’s a load of crap.

Stop and think for a minute about how many different sets of people throw up obstacles when a would-be entrepreneur outs him or herself.

First, you get the friends and relatives who tell you that you’re a nut case and need to go out and get a “real” job.

Sometimes, you get grief from a spouse, too - especially if that spouse is worried about your ability to generate enough revenues to pay the mortgage.

The government certainly doesn’t help all that much. Yeah, sure, there are small business support programs through the SBA. But there are also taxes and regulations and, if you’re home based, there are zoning restrictions you may or may not have to worry about. And, when it comes to making policy decisions, the folks in Washington would much rather blow their wad on larger firms that do anything that would actually encourage folks to go solo or start small firms.

Then, too, there are the government bureaucrats from places like the IRS and the Labor Department, who don’t like it when citizens go solo. The nice thing about citizen employees is that employees are easy to keep track of. Once we remove ourselves from the supervision of an employer, they feel we can’t be trusted.

You think that sounds paranoid? I’ve actually had federal bureaucrats come right out and say stuff very like that. (”Well, when they are self-employed, then we don’t know what they’re really doing.”)

And, if all that isn’t bad enough, there are employers in stories like this one (and props to Anita for pointing it out).

We might have a highly entrepreneurial economy, especially when compared to a lot of other places, but culturally there is so much out there to discourage entrepreneurship that it’s a wonder anybody ever strikes out on their own.

Culturally, we only love entrepreneurs after they’ve made their first million.

So give yourself an extra pat on the back or a hug or a kiss or something. Just getting past all that opposition to start and stick with your own venture is, when you stop and think about it, quite a feat.

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Comments

1 Comment so far

  1. Mike Wagner on June 1, 2007 5:20 pm

    Hi Dawn,

    Love the straight talk in this post!

    The encouragement at the end is “right on” as well: “getting past all that opposition to start and stick with your own venture is, when you stop and think about it, quite a feat.”

    I heard a botanist once say that life requires struggle in order to develop properly.

    So maybe all of these barriers thrown up by America are just the nation’s way of helping our businesses grow? Grin.

    Keep creating,
    Mike

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