Geri Stengel's blog

Use and Value of Resources by Small Business Owners and Nonprofit Leaders is a newly released study by Ventureneer, which provides insights into support systems upon which small business owners rely. Entrepreneurs rely more on each other than accountants, lawyers, or anyone else. However, it appears the most successful entrepreneurs rely almost equally on professional services and peer support.

New research finds that small business owners learn in many different ways, but they have a strong preference for seminars over undergraduate business and MBA university courses. Use and Value of Resources by Small Business Owners and Nonprofit Leaders: A Survey Conducted by Ventureneer, August 2009 also finds that going online is a popular way of taking seminars.

At a time when budgets are being cut left and right, a brand new report published by Ventureneer, “Use and Value of Resources by Small Business Owners and Nonprofit Leaders,” finds the membership in business networking groups continues to proliferate – over three quarters of entrepreneurs find value in belonging to one or more.

Over the past few weeks, Ventureneer has been conducting research to find out about the use and impact of resources among small business owners and nonprofit leaders. I’m still digesting all the information for the full report, Use and Value of Resources by Small Business Owners and Nonprofit Leaders: A Survey Conducted by Ventureneer, but I wanted to start sharing some of the insights.

Not sure many of you would think a former t-shirt salesman would have much in common with Isaac Newton, but they both have grit. One went on to discover the mechanics of gravity and the other became a TV icon. In my last blog post, Grit: The Must Have Quality for All Entrepreneurs, I talked about the importance of perseverance as the crucial ingredient for success. 

It may not have been Jonah Lehrer’s intention to link Isaac Newton with successful entrepreneurs in his article, “The Truth About Grit”, but I consider that to be its logical conclusion. Just like Newton, it may take an entrepreneur years before he or shereaches their goal. Newton had, and entrpreneurs must have an astonishing ability to persist in the face of obstacles. 

I know it’s been in the news a lot, but the facts often bear repeating: 

• entrepreneurs create new jobs at a faster rate than larger companies
• entrepreneurs develop new products and services
• entrepreneurs innovate processes and approaches improving the way we get things done
• entrepreneurs (re)invigorate economies

Food industry veteran Kathrine Gregory conceived Mi Kitchen es su Kitchen in 1996, as a time-share rental facility available for up-and-coming food entrepreneurs. However, over time, what has evolved is another business model, which provides extra income to nonprofits that have commercial kitchens that are underutilized.

As I mentioned last week, I was going to attend a Young Professionals Friendraiser for Fast Forward Fund (FFF), which I did. I enjoyed meeting new friends and catching up with the old gang. However, what impressed me the most were the presentations.