Watching television programs like “Shark Tank” has many people wondering about their luck at starting a new business.
“Jump in,” says Houston start-up business mentor and advisor Michele Price. “It’s always a good time to start if you are very clear about what problem you are solving and you’ve been smart enough to be continuously creating a network,” she suggests.
Forbes Magazine lists the fasted growing skills in 2017 as virtual reality design, natural language processing, and econometrics.
There are 28 million small businesses in the U.S., defined by the SBA as companies employing less than 500 workers, and half of them are home based.
543-thousand new small businesses get started each month...but even more shut down every month.
“People don’t spend enough time doing the ‘ahead of time,’ the beginning-type of work to understand what they’re really getting in to,” Price counsels. She says to be sure to do your homework.
7 out of 10 new firms survive at least 2 years, half at least 5 years, a third at least 10 years. One in four make it 15 years or more.