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ASIAN AMERICAN ISSUES
Starting Your Own Business
(Updated
Tuesday, Apr 1, 2008, 05:56:09 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
[This page is closed to new input. --Ed.]
Hi all! It's been a long time since I've visited this website. Unfortunately, I hadnt found the time or energy as a victim of corporate slavery. But since I missed some of you so much, I had to squeeze in time to at least take a peek at the hot discussion of the week. I must say, I am VERY glad entrepreneurship is of discussion...b/c I NEED ADVICE!!!
With about 2 years of experience under my belt, I'm quickly learning that I'm not really cut out to be an employee. In the beginning, I was very passionate about career (b/c entrepreneurship was a prospect). Things have changed a bit since then. Office politics, upper management egotism, constant deadlines (due to poor time estimation from the management team), unnecessary critcism etc...have eaten away a lot of that motivation I've once had. I need several more years of experience to become my own boss, but as of right now I do not know how many more years I can go dealing with the bs of the corporate world.
My boss just recently thanked me for the hardwork I've been putting forth b/c it paid off -- the client was very pleased with our presentation. Before a simple compliment, such as this, was enough to motivate me. Now and days, I just shrug my shoulders wishing I was elsewhere.
I'm seriously thinking about starting my own business (maybe something in the retail industry where there is a low supplies, but high demands?..not sure yet). Anyways, my question is...are these good reasons to start a new career in a different industry? I dont hate what I do (well, it bores me a little bit), I just hate the politics that it entails, the annoying upper management (I refuse to kiss up to them just b/c of their status), and I absolutely hate not having the freedom to make my own decisions.
Have anyone else experienced this? Any advices?
AC Dropout -- If you dont mind me asking, what type of company do you have? You've discuss your stategies, successes, and failures...but to satisfy our curiousities, can you please tell us what you do?
be
Sunday, August 11, 2002 at 01:05:00 (PDT)
My uncle is his own boss, and he makes very little money as a print maker (one who creates and prints out catalogs, magazines, pictures, etc.). I wish that my uncle could make more money.
dsfbcbsijbdax
Thursday, August 08, 2002 at 13:13:31 (PDT)
For those interested in starting their own business, I would recommend a book called "E-Myth" by Michael Gerber. It is the best entrepreneurship book I've ever read. These are some highlites I can remember:
1) Create and run your business as if you're going to sell it. That way it would force you to create an efficient and profitable business. Afterall, no one wants to buy your biz if it's not efficient and profitable.
2) Your business should work for you, not the other way around. If you work for your biz, it's called a job. Applying Rule 1 above, no one wants to buy a job. People want to buy a business that give them money.
3) Create a super efficient system so you can hire people with the lowest skills to run it. They're cheap and easy to find. That way, you can make the business work for you, not you working for your business. He gives McDonald's as an example.
A warning, though. This guy Gerber is not a hot-shot management consultant from McKinsey with a Harvard MBA or a CEO of a Fortune 500 or a professional business writer. (But that's what I like about him). So the book is written in a very unusual way. He put a lot of garbage in it, like a whole chapter on a story on how he met his young wife, etc. But once you can get passed of this garbage, it's a very valuable book. I've read some entrepreneurs actually built their business based on this book alone.
Good luck!
Entrepreneurship has its reward
Tuesday, August 06, 2002 at 10:29:21 (PDT)
LSD,
It doesn't really matter when you wish to start a business. As long as a war isn't going on in your front yard. Even then refugee are great customers too. Desperate for hope, etc. etc.
Most small business don't over inflate profit. They try to report as little profit as possible, for tax reasons. Who is a non-public, non-invested business trying to impress? The neighbors.
I'm too Americanized in a sense to do a traditional family business. Since I need to be in the top spot. Given my young age I would have to bow out to seniors in the family. That would have driven me crazy, since I firmly believe I have a greater grasp of the American market, since I was brought up here, which led to the rapid growth of the company.
And lastly, you can sell earthworms to become rich if you know what you're doing.
AC dropout
Sunday, August 04, 2002 at 19:07:45 (PDT)
Asian Americans start their own businesses because they often have no choice. Even the most gifted Asians can't even dream about being a partner in a investment bank or a top level executive or even a relatively easy corporate job (when is the last time you saw an incompetent manager who is Asian?). Those opportunities are not available to Asians, unless they have some irreplaceable connection to Asia or are willing to be treated like a token or unfairly.
Of course, many Asians would rather have a safe, high paying job. But unfortunate reality is that Asian men do not haev the same opportunities that white men do.
ETA
Sunday, August 04, 2002 at 10:42:31 (PDT)
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