Whether it is the desire to be your own boss, pursue your own ideas or the hope of financial rewards, people are changing their outlook on how to do business. Within the scope of entrepreneurship there are four demographics that are increasing faster than ever.

Women Entrepreneurs

In 2002, the most recent year the U.S. Census Bureau collected business ownership data, there were 6.5 million women-owned businesses. That number is up 20% from 1997. Traditionally, women-owned businesses were most prevalent in the health care and professional services industries. But surprisingly, the fastest growing areas of women-owned businesses are construction (up 30%), agricultural services (up 24%) and transportation (up 20%).

Minority Entrepreneurs

The number of minority-owned businesses has also risen sharply over this same period. Growth in African-American owned businesses is up 45% from 1997 to 2002. Both Asian-owned businesses and Native American-owned businesses have also increased, at a rate of 24%.

Senior Entrepreneurs

Although the U.S. Census Bureau does not specifically collect data on senior-owned businesses, there is strong evidence to suggest more seniors are getting involved in entrepreneurship. This dramatic increase can be attributed to corporate downsizing, growing worries that seniors are going to need more income to cover future health care expenses, and an increasing desire for older workers to obtain personal fulfillment in their lives after retirement.

Young Entrepreneurs

Perhaps the fastest growing demographic of entrepreneurship is young people. According to a Gallup study, 7 out of 10 high school students want to start their own companies. Interest in entrepreneurship is also growing on college campuses. Presently there are 1992 two and four-year colleges that offer at least one course in entrepreneurship. This number is up from just 300 colleges in 1985.

No matter who is starting all these new businesses, entrepreneurship is undoubtedly a growing trend throughout the world. As the economy is struggling and people are getting laid-off, more and more people are realizing the benefits of entrepreneurship. The desire to become a corporate eight to fiver is losing steam, when are you going to jump on board?

Nick Tart is a senior at Colorado State University and the founder of JuniorBiz.com, teaching young people how to become entrepreneurs. He anticipates graduating Magna Cum Laude this spring and chooses to use his $40,000 education to help young people with their businesses. Find 100+  teen business ideas  on his site. Entrepreneurship is a game. May the best one win.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Nick_Tart

Entrepreneurship is in full vogue in America. Small-business activities and growth is at its peak. About 2346 of small businesses are established each day! No doubt that most of it get disestablished each day, approximately 2106 every day! But this buzzing activity is keeping entrepreneurship alive. There are approximately 5.8 million firms in America, and nearly 10.1 million people working there are self employed.

Small business and industry hold a huge portion in the American economy. There is a plethora of small and medium entrepreneurs in America which constitute to major chunk of revenue and employment opportunities. The statistical data summarized and presented below in this context gives weightage to the aforesaid.

o Approximately 99% of businesses in America are small.

o The small business employs about 50% of the private sector workers.

o The small business adds about 75% per annum to the U.S. economy

o The small business represents the total strength of 99.7% employers

The dedication, innovation and initiative of small business owners make them an important part of the U.S. economy. The ample of opportunities provided by the small business makes them all the more popular. Small entrepreneurs provide means of livelihood to approximately to half of America. Indeed the job of small entrepreneurs is not easy but tough work gives them satisfying rewards. The popularity of small business is primarily because it gives freedom and flexibility to an individual. This in turn gives innovative ideas to the enterprise which encourages growth and productivity.

But the small entrepreneurs cannot run the entire show on their own. The U.S. economy plays a vital role in encouraging these players to nurture themselves into the economy. It provides affable environment and complimenting policies in order to allow them to flourish.

In order to construct workable environment, in which small businesses in the U.S. economy can prosper, President George W. Bush has tied with private-sector and nonprofit organizations to focus aptitude, skill, and other assets on facilitating economic development and enterprise all across America, and particularly in otherwise neglected areas. All these sectors have joined hands and are now educating people to lure them in entrepreneurship making it all the more popular and effective.

Entrepreneurship and Population

The trend shows that people in between the age group of 25 and 34 have strong inclination towards entrepreneurship.

Another facet to entrepreneurship in the U.S. is that in comparison to women, men are more inclined towards such opportunities. Almost 15.7 percent of the men show interest in entrepreneurship. On the other hand women count to 8.2 percent only. This indicates that in comparison to women, men exhibit almost double interest in entrepreneurship

People having specialized, professional, technical or business school degrees show greater inclination in entrepreneurship in the U.S. This was to almost 17.8 percent of the total entrepreneurial activity.

African- Americans contributed to the maximum TEA or Total Entrepreneurial Activity. The TEA rate of African Americans is almost 16.5 percent. Surprisingly the lowest rates are of white Americans of about 10.8 percent only, whereas the Hispanic Americans exhibit a rate of 15.2 percent.

Entrepreneurship and Financing

Financing of viable projects is an important aspect in the entrepreneurship. In the absence of sufficient investors, the ventures cannot take the shape of a working model. Mere conception of idea and jotting the same in black and white does not give wings to the project to take off. It is the life blood that supports both budding and existing entrepreneurs. The investment can be either in the form of informal or formal venture capital. America shows a high prevalence rate of informal investments. As per data 5 percent of people have contributed to the business ventures of their family or friends in their past three years. The formal venture investment accounted to only 0.2 percent of the total. Where the informal investment went to millions of companies in the United States, the formal investment contributed its presence to only 2500 companies in which the new venture very few.

Cultural and Social Norms

Entrepreneurs are a group of people who foresee a business opportunity, explore its viability and start the venture. The rate of growth of every country’s growth largely depends on the cultural and social norms prevalent in that country. American culture has been characterized as one seeking opportunities for new ideas and involving high risk taking in business. In fact, the culture supports the entrepreneurial development and the world index shows higher degree of entrepreneurial activities and opportunities in the U.S. as compared with other countries.

It has also been a consistent feature of the U.S. population that they possess strong perception of having the required skills for business, they are relatively less scared with failures and always strive towards new ventures and unexploited business ideas. Overall, the nation’s culture determines to what extent the social norms are encouraging the individuals’ intentions to conduct business in the country. The social and cultural norms are therefore vital to the growth of entrepreneurial sector of any economy.

To Sum Up

Entrepreneurship in the United States has been always on the upward trend and still continues to do so. The United States outshines the rest of the world in terms of entrepreneurial growth. It also leads in providing training and growth opportunities, to the individuals who show interest in this field. With the ever increasing popularity of internet the entrepreneurship in America has taken new dimensions and the pace of economic development has speeded up. Immigrants from all over the globe make United States their final destination to prosper in life. The large number of small business prospering in the country, employing more and more population of the country, along with its flexibility in operations and supporting laws, gives a clear indication that the future is of this sector and it will emerge as an important component in the future economic growth of the country. The supporting government rules and regulations make it a hub for future entrepreneurs. As already termed as the ‘Land of Opportunities’, America stands up to the name by providing a whole canvas to paint pictures of one’s own creativity and expertise.

For more on entrepreneurship, please go to canadiantradeenclave.ca

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jasdeep_Kaur