Starting Over—as an Entrepreneur

Starting Over—as an Entrepreneur
For laid-off or worried workers, launching a business may seem the best path to survival. Here are the stories of five people who are taking that route—and the lessons they’ve learned so far.

By  KELLY K. SPORS and  RAYMUND FLANDEZ


Tough times breed a different kind of entrepreneur.

With the economy tanking, lots of people are striking out on their own. Some never thought of starting a business until they got laid off. Others kicked around the idea but never found the time or the passion to pursue it. Now, launching a start-up seems like a better bet than taking on an endless job hunt.

Call them entrepreneurs by necessity. And while some of them have waited years preparing for just this moment, others may not be quite so ready or eager to make the move.

“I think we’re going to see a lot of businesses started by people who otherwise would not have started businesses” in better times, says Bo Fishback, vice president of entrepreneurship for the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, a Kansas City entrepreneurial-research organization. “Necessity-driven entrepreneurship can be a powerful motivator.”

This new crowd faces lots of obstacles. Banks and investors are handing out a lot less money these days, especially to first-timers. What’s more, necessity entrepreneurs have often done less of the spade work than other entrepreneurs—in part because they weren’t thinking that a layoff was imminent. And the fragile economy makes just about any new company a chancy proposition.

So, how are these new entrepreneurs faring? To get a sense of it, we talked to five people who recently started—or tried to start—new ventures because their job picture changed. We found that they often had to struggle to find their footing and adjust to the demands of entrepreneurship. But most also found an unexpected passion for flying solo.

Here are their stories....

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