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The season of the entrepreneur.

consider myself the con-
Statistics study tracked startups
summate news and infor-
between March 1998 and
mation junkie, poring
March 2002 and found "66 per-
over a couple dozen local and
cent ... were still in existence
national daily newspapers and
two years after their birth, and
retail-trade publications —
44 percent were still in
online and in print — plus a
existence four years after,"
ED NAKFOOR
handful of monthly lifestyle
COLUMNIST
regardless of business type.
magazines.
Despite the risks,
Aside from studying the latest retail
though, the desire to be in charge
concepts and consumer trends, I enjoy
remains strong.
reading about the new merchant class:
Jeff Sloan, co-founder (along with
ambitious individuals jumping into
brother, Rich) of Birmingham-based
today's retailing maelstrom.
StartupNation, is a veritable cheer-
Some come from retail families, so
leader for small business. His organiza-
it's natural for them to hang a shingle
tion, via its Web site, radio show and
and peddle wares. For others, though, a
recently published book of the same
life-altering event — layoff, relocation,
name, celebrates the entrepreneur and
financial windfall — is the impetus to
offers guidance for anyone starting a
realize an entrepreneurial dream.
new venture, or expanding what they're
What I find most interesting is that
currently doing.
in an era of hand-wringing about the
And while he, too, says the failure
regional economy, talk of homoge-
rate remains high, he's definitely of the
nization in the retail sector thanks to
glass-is-half-full view, albeit tempered
the dominance of big chains and corn-
with caution.
petition from online shopping, there's
He says rather than looking for "the
no shortage of "moms and pops"
next great idea," many budding busi-
spiffing up storefronts and hearing the ness owners look to the familiar —
register ring.
including retail stores. Plus, the busi-
Drive around town and you'll notice
ness model for a store is not as complex
paper-covered windows. Behind them,
as it would be for something like a
construction crews place the finishing
technology-based operation, and a
touches on someone's long-held vision;
bricks-and-mortar endeavor "gives a
out front, a sign with those optimistic
sense of pride and provides instant grat-
words "coming soon."
ification. You can touch and feel it."
Indeed, as we transition from sum-
Just be aware of pitfalls.
mer to fall, looks like we're also moving
As passionate as most small-business
into the season of the entrepreneur.
owners are about their product or serv-
ice, that optimism can cloud their
thinking. Thus, they aren't diligent
NATION OF SMALL
about laying a solid foundation, like
BUSINESS
defining their niche, be it quality,
One caveat. Depending on whom you
exclusivity or service or fully evaluating
ask, half to more than three-quarters of
the competition — now and going for-
small businesses fail anywhere from
ward. "It's all about the competitive
their first through fifth year.
advantage," he says.
In fact, a U.S. Bureau of Labor

Continued on page 38

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