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What our members have to say...
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"DONE DEAL - TQ Recycling is one the South West’s leading waste management, waste collection and waste disposal companies, offering a service that enables commercial and public organisations in the South West to manage their waste, from collection and recovery to recycling regardless of the type, volume or location."
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TQ Recycling - www.tqrecycling.co.uk |
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Entrepreneurship is source of job growth
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Solving a jobless recovery simply takes creating more jobs. That is obviously easier said than done. Local experts agree that supporting entrepreneurship is an important part of revving up local job creation and the economy.
“Entrepreneurship is important to any economy. Job creators are entrepreneurs, not big companies or those that relocate. Only 2 percent of job creation comes from job relocation,” according to Tom Duening, El Pomar chair in business and entrepreneurship, and director of the Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs.
Entrepreneurship also drives innovation. “This is where the real innovations and creativity come from,” said John Hawley, CEO of Global Near Space Services. “Big businesses tend to buy the innovation from small startups.”
Success requires individual and community resources.
“You need to be highly committed and passionate about your ideas, ignore the naysayers and be able to bounce back from rejection. If you can’t deal with negative comments, you won’t last as an entrepreneur,” said Mary Fagnant, president of Qualtek Manufacturing.
No successful entrepreneur is an island. Community support is needed.
This includes access to ready sources of capital, whether angel investors, venture capital or other business financing. Other needs include a sufficient talent pool to bring ideas to fruition and access to other people to share ideas and give-and-take advice, such as network groups, incubators and other successful entrepreneurs.
Colorado Springs has a strong network of community groups to help entrepreneurs who seek out advice and help.
There is room, though, for improvement in the area of available capital.
“The lack of capital is a chicken-and-egg syndrome. You need success to draw investors in, and capital is needed for success. Success also develops successful management with experience growing and running a company,” said Marc Fey, president and CEO of BlueFolder.
Locals have relied on friends and family, outside resources and carefully managing cash flow to fund growth.
Recognizing the value that risk-takers bring to the community is one way to help get to that critical mass of success.
“Education is a good place to start. We now have more entrepreneurial offerings at UCCS, but I’d like to see us talking about business opportunities and entrepreneurship more in the middle and high schools,” said Roy Clennan, president of Freedom Financial Services.
Some entrepreneurs will advise you to be fully committed and take the leap so you can focus on what needs to be done and never quit. Others will say that if you are stressed about your basic needs then you won’t have the creativity and innovation needed for success.
It is important to understand what you need to do to make it — take the leap or play it safer.
However, all agree that it is critical to ask for help and advice from others.
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