The Challenges of Starting a Business

Learning Objectives

1. Define entrepreneur.
2. Describe the three characteristics of entrepreneurial activity.
3. Identify five potential advantages to starting your own business.
4. Explain the differences among three types of start-up firms.
5. Define a small business.
6. Explain the importance of small businesses to the U.S. economy.
7. Explain why small businesses tend to foster innovation more effectively than large ones.
8. Describe some of the ways in which small companies work with big ones.
9. Describe the goods-producing and service-producing sectors of an economy.
10. Identify the industries in which small businesses are concentrated.
11. Summarize the advantages and disadvantages of business ownership.
12. Explain what it takes to start a business.
13. Evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of several small business ownership options—starting a business from scratch, buying an existing business, and obtaining a franchise.
14. Discuss the importance of planning for your business, and identify the key sections of a business plan.
15. Discuss ways to succeed in managing a business, and explain why some businesses fail.
16. Identify sources of small business assistance from the Small Business Administration.