Startup Spark

The Top 6 Ways to Create Thousands of Successful Entrepreneurs

by Ben Yoskovitz on February 2nd, 2007

We need more entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs create wealth. Entrepreneurs move the ball forward. Entrepreneurs take creative leaps and make the world a better place. At least they can.

We need more of them.

Here are my suggestions for getting more people into entrepreneurship and helping them succeed when they get there:

1. Teach Entrepreneurship in Highschool. There may be some highschools with unique entrepreneurship programs, but I’ve never heard of them. Entrepreneurship should be a focal point of a highschool curriculum. I don’t want to diminish the importance of Geometry and Accounting but seriously…And for that matter, more universities and colleges should teach entrepreneurship. Their business departments should be centered on entrepreneurship.
2. Foster a Culture of Entrepreneurship. This is quite strong in the US, but in Canada and elsewhere it’s less so. A culture of entrepreneurship means encouraging people to start early, dream, take chances, accept failure and think big. A culture of entrepreneurship means you don’t accept the status quo, you ask questions, you always think of ways to improve things. The government, business world, media and other entrepreneurs need to foster a culture of entrepreneurship.
3. Bring Entrepreneurs Closer Together In-Person. Entrepreneurs and soon-to-be entrepreneurs need to find ways of gathering together, in-person, more often. There’s a certain energy that is generated by putting a bunch of entrepreneurs together to exchange ideas, network and help one another. Settings like Indoor Playground should exist in every major city.
4. Successful Entrepreneurs Need to Mentor Newcomers. Lots of excellent entrepreneurs already mentor others; I don’t see a huge gap here. But, I bet there’s plenty of entrepreneurs that are just starting out who don’t have a mentor or group of advisors who have been through the ringer a few times.
5. Provide Tax Breaks for Solopreneurs. If you work from home, and run your own business, you deserve a tax break. Not a huge one (sorry!) but something. You can already claim certain business expenses, but it can be taken further.
6. Provide More Angel Funding. Entrepreneurs need funding. Even a few thousand dollars can make a big difference. Programs like TechStars and Y Combinator are starting to address the issues of super-early angel investment, and hopefully more will follow.

We need more people becoming entrepreneurs.

When they do, we need more in place to help them succeed.

Tags: Business, culture-of-entrepreneurship, Entrepreneurship, successful-entrepreneurs

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POSTED IN: Entrepreneurship, Passion, Starting a Business