Launching a business with little financial means and working hard to gain prosperity has long been the American dream. As in the past, many will achieve it in the future. However, the current business climate dictates that now, perhaps more so than any time in the past 50 years, entrepreneurs must not only be hardworking, but astute.
Competition is generally greater, and in many markets, it is keen.
In fact, according to the Dept. of Commerce, the failure rate of incorporations more than doubled from 42 per 1,000 in 1980, to 107 in 1992. Other statistics indicate that it's not easy to be successful. New York State has 190,000 small businesses employing 10 people or less. Recently, the state Dept. of Labor reported that 40,000 new businesses are started in New York every year. Most are small, averaging 3.5 employees.