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ASIAMS.NET |
ASIAN AMERICAN ISSUES
Starting Your Own Business
(Updated
Tuesday, Apr 1, 2008, 05:56:10 PM)
hat's not to like? Tell off the boss, scrap the suits and ties, exit commuter hell, set your own hours and rake in the riches. Hell, if average joes like Charles Wang, Jerry Yang and Pehong Chen can bootstrap startups into billion-dollar companies, what's to stop a savvy, hardworking wiz kid like you?
Top AA entrepreneur
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That's precisely the thinking of the 913,000 Asian Americans who run their own businesses. As of 1997 (the most recent year for which census compilations are available) Asians made up 4.5% of all U.S. busiinesses. On a per capita basis AA are nearly twice as likely as other minorities to start a business. And they're doing well. Between 1992 and 1997 the revenues of Asian-owned firms jumped 68% to $307 billion, compared with a 40% growth for all U.S. businesses.
But commerce department stats show that most AA startups aren't of the fantasy variety. Only 32% had paid employees and only 2,100 (2.3%) had 100 or more employees. Maybe the most discouraging to prospective entrepreneurs: only 5% (45,300) of firms had gross receipts of $1 million or more. Far larger numbers (259,600 or 28%) had annual receipts of under $10,000.
AA businesses also don't fit the stereotypes of hi-tech garage startups or mom-and-pop grocery stores. The biggest share (44% versus 43% for all U.S. businesses) fall into the services category, with heaviest concentrations in business and personal services. The number two category is retail (21.4% versus 14% for all U.S. businesses), followed by "Not Classified" (10%), finance, insurance and real estate (8%), wholesale trade (6%), transportation, communications and utilities (4%), manufacturing (3%), construction (3%) and agricultural services (1%).
In terms of gross receipts, however, wholesale trade accounted for over a third of all receipts with $105.5 billion, followed by retail ($67.9 billion) and services ($67.8 billion) where a much larger share of the receipts survive to the bottom line. Asians own 5,634 law firms, 74,471 medical firms and 23,242 manufacturing firms. Of those, 1,676 companies with 33,616 employees were listed as manufacturing electronic and electric equipment. The glamour fields make up relatively small numbers. For example, listed under "motion pictures" are 4,338 AA firms with $49.5 million in sales. Of those only 1,622 had paid employees, 8,326 of them.
By nationality, Chinese Americans owned the most businesses (252,577), followed by Indo-Ams (166,737), Cor-Ams (135,571), Viet-Ams (97,764), Japanese-Ams (85,538), Fil-Ams (84,534) and other Asians (70,868). Revenues showed greater disparity: Chi-Ams ($106.2 bil), Indo-Ams ($67.5 bil), Cor-Ams ($45.9 bil), J-Ams ($43.7 bil.), Other Asians ($19.0 bil), Fil-Ams ($11.0 bil) and Viet-Ams ($9.3 bil).
All these stats are meaningless, of course, if not downright hazardous to those who risk life savings, good credit and a steady paycheck to launch themselves into trajectories that are always unique, perilous and non-reversible. In the end all that separates the eight tattered failures from the one gleaming success is a relentless will to pay whatever cost is demanded.
Is starting your own business really the best way to fulfull the American dream? What separates the sun-bleached carcasses lining the road to riches from those who arrive in air-conditioned style?
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WHAT YOU SAY
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Serial Masochist,
I wouldn't worry too much attention on start up capital. That was the downfall of my first business. Trying to convince people invest money or lend money, you become their employee after a while and cannot focus on your own vision and operation.
I felt burned out and started up my gym routine again. But every now and then, about 2 years, I take about 4-7 days off and just comtemplate what I'm doing and where the company should be heading.
Is your growth pegged onto any market indicators or are you talking about how to allocate your time more effectively to grow the business. You might need to allocate some of your day to day responsibility to employees in order to focus your attention to growing the business.
AC Dropout
Tuesday, July 30, 2002 at 14:15:28 (PDT)
serial machoist
You changed business 3 times in last 2 yrs.?? something is seriously wrong. You either have no idea of what you are doing or you have no idea of what you are doing.
Develop expertise and niche. Also dont be disheartened average times of business failure is 12 before hitting the jack pot. wa ha ha.
SOG
Tuesday, July 30, 2002 at 13:03:42 (PDT)
Savvy Davy,
When I started each of my businesses, I had hopes of doing what you said, having plenty of time for strategizing and business development. It never seems to work out that way. I always get pulled into spending every working moment on operations and actually pitching in to make sure things get done on time. I have never had the luxury of a raising a large startup capital investment. Maybe that's been my problem.
AC,
I do work evenings quite frequently, although on weekends I only work Saturday until the early afternoon. I find I need to rest if I am to keep up my energy levels for the workweek. I find it is not so much the number of hours that limits me, but the amount of energy. I burn out at anything more than about 48 hours a week. I am always looking for ways to improve my energy level. I am running five miles four days a week and try to play a couple of rounds of golf every weekend. I also make a point of spending time with my family. My problem is that I just can't seem to get past a certain level of operation to grow the business.
Serial Masochist
Monday, July 29, 2002 at 18:22:19 (PDT)
Serial Masochist,
You don't want to run yourself ragged. If you're too tired working to have ideas and make plans, you will never get ahead of the game. You have to structure your business so you can spend at least two or three hours a day for serious thinking, research, brainstorming, consulting with more experienced businessmen, etc.
If you get yourself behind the eightball early on, that means you didn't really think things through well enough before getting started.
Here's what I do: triple all your time estimates and double your cost estimates. Using those figures, if you can't belive your net income line rising above the red within 6 months, you don't want to be in that business. Take my word for it!
Savvy Davy
Monday, July 29, 2002 at 10:11:50 (PDT)
Serial Masochist,
I don't want to sound like those motivation books and just expound some abstract idea.
But in a field where competition and inflation will always cut into profit. You need to focus a few year down a road, while at the same time focusing on the day-to-day. If your standing still you're probably going backwards as they say.
In business, is like casino gambling at times. Sometimes you just have to cut your losses. Or you learn to control your cash flow tighter, until the market upturns again (if you believe that it might).
If you find yourself working weekends, nights and holidays. Well you're probably committed to something or you really are a Masochist as your handle proclaims. :)
AC Dropout
Monday, July 29, 2002 at 07:48:54 (PDT)
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