Entrepreneurship in National News

Entrepreneurship is the current subject of several national headlines:

CNN Money posted an article about Generation-Y entrepreneurs that seek to assist young adults in launching new companies and creating jobs. Their ideas center around fellowship programs, helping job seekers present themselves to employers in creative ways, and organizing a network of entrepreneurs.

Another story looks at women-owned businesses by industry, one of a four-part series of blog posts based on an American Express OPEN Forum study, "State of Women-Owned Businesses Report." The national economic impact of these female-led companies is estimated at $1.3 trillion, up 58 percent from 1997. The full summary and other posts provide more details; for a brief visual summary, check out this cool infographic.

And last but not least, the Kauffman Foundation (in conjunction with LegalZoom) just released its latest measure of start-up confidence, an index based on a recent survey of new business owners. In the third quarter of 2012, the survey found that 79 percent of businesses surveyed are confident or very confident that their businesses will soon see higher profits, although 70 percent say they have no plans to hire additional employees.

For additional information on Oregon-based start-ups, check out two recently-published staff articles: Research Analyst Phoebe Colman's report on Oregon's young businesses, which is a nice primer on statewide start-up trends; and Regional Economist Amy Vander Vliet's piece on venture capital firms in the Portland Metro area, which offers local background on these companies.