The Global Economic Monitor concludes that as much as one-third of the differences in national economic growth may be due to differences in entrepreneurial activity. In America, as many as 8.4 out of every 100 US adults are right now trying to start businesses of their own. Looking at a business birth-rate strategy in the UK should be a priority for Government.
The fact is that small businesses create the majority of new jobs - 1.6 million (or 64 per cent) of the 2.5 million new jobs created in the U.S in 1996, for example. Since 1980, Fortune 500 companies have cut more than five million jobs while the rest of the economy has added 34 million new jobs.
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These statistics are very impressive, but when compared with such statistics for the UK, it can be deduced that the British economy gains considerably more from the small business community. For instance, small businesses account for over 50 per cent of employment outside the public sector, and contributes half the GDP of UK Plc. It follows logically from this, therefore, that small businesses and their ability to create such wealth and employment should be focused on more favourably by our government.
Education in entrepreneurial skills is virtually non-existent in UK primary and secondary schools, as is economic knowledge in general: as a whole we lack a strong understanding of basic economics. But what should we do to address this? The best place to start is to look across the pond at the bastion of entrepreneurial activity: America.
Hundreds of US colleges and more than 90 university-based centres of entrepreneurship now offer entrepreneurship training. Twenty years ago, only a handful of colleges even offered entrepreneurship courses. Today, education in this arena is proliferating across the country.
The National Council on Economic Education has focussed on the teaching of complex entrepreneurship skills such as opportunity recognition, utilising resources in pursuit of opportunity, and mastering long-term vision.
Mini-Society is one of the programs designed by the Kauffman Centre for Entrepreneurial Leadership to teach entrepreneurship to elementary and secondary school children. The program is an experience-based approach directed at children ages 8 to 12. Through Mini-Society, children design and develop their own society and identify tasks for which they can earn money.
Ultimately, the children identify opportunities and establish their own businesses to provide goods and services to their fellow citizens. Throughout the 10-week program, the instructor or course leader conducts in-depth briefings with each student to introduce and explain the concepts underlying the learning experiences. More than 3,500 teachers and youth leaders across the country have been trained to teach Mini-Society. Furthermore, the National Foundation for teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) has designed programs (e.g. summer camps) to teach low-income teens how to start their own businesses.
There are also programs that are attempting to bridge the gap between the science and business communities (e.g. Stanford University; University of Chicago; University of Colorado-Boulder; University of Iowa; University of Texas-Austin etc). Such programs will serve as future role models for encouraging the integration of entrepreneurship and technical skills-based education.
A great example of American entrepreneurship can be seen in my following economic tip courtesy of my company Entrepreneur Secrets. Ink is known as 'black gold': at printer market leaders Hewlett-Packard, ink and toner supplies make up more than 50% of their annual profits, although they bring in less than a quarter of the company's billion in sales. At an ounce, it is more expensive that Chanel No.5 eau de Parfum, Dom Perignon 1990 vintage champagne, and 22-year-old Rosebank single malt whisky.
But a new breed of fast-growing upstarts is out to crash the profit party. Across America, retail stores are cropping up in strip malls among the Gaps and Wal-Marts where consumers and small business owners can go to have empty printer and toner cartridges refilled - usually for half of what it costs to buy a new one.
The largest of these outfits, Cartridge World, based in Australia, just passed 1,000 stores worldwide, and its North America affiliate has opened 275 stores in the US. The company is signing up a new US franchisee daily and plans to top 3,000 stores in the country by early next decade, a phenomenal achievement.
There have been ways to reduce printing costs for years for shoppers willing to deal with messy do-it-yourself refill kits or buy from online outfits with iffy-quality products. But the new retail chains will make re-use an option for millions of mainstream PC owners. Customers can either wait for a few minutes for their cartridge to be refilled, or pick up a 'pre-filled' one in stock. Most refill franchisees also have their own vans to do pickups and deliveries to local businesses, usually at no extra charge.
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