Entrepreneurship: A Candidate's Guide

Abstract:     
This guide is intended to help candidates for elected public office be knowledgeable about promoting entrepreneurship as a means to help generate economic development and create jobs in their communities.

The first part reviews what entrepreneurs do and their positive effects on local and national communities. Entrepreneurs lead small companies that are based on an innovation and are designed to grow quickly. They are contrasted to aspiring entrepreneurs and lifestyle businesses. Demographics, status of minority entrepreneurs, and regions where entrepreneurial activity dominates are discussed.

Part 2 addresses key issues for entrepreneurs and their needs. Finding and retaining quality talent at all levels is the biggest challenge. Access to capital has until recently been the primary problem of entrepreneurs. Today, though, certain types of entrepreneurs (women and minorities) face difficulty accessing capital; regional disparities exist, but accessing seed capital is difficult in all regions. Suitable networks and local infrastructure are also necessary.

Part 3 discusses various entrepreneur-friendly policies and programs, including recognition of entrepreneurship, education and training, creating a networking structure and supportive infrastructure, providing seed capital, preparing workers for the new economy, and reinventing government. Each part concludes with sets of questions and answers about important topics.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 36

Keywords: Public policies, Regional development, Early stage financing, Barriers to growth, Employee recruitment, Social networks, Economic growth

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