Global Survey of Entrepreneurs

A survey of members of the Entrepreneurs' Organization (EO) was released this week.  EO is a global network of more than 7,000 business owners in 38 countries. Members must be founders of their business, have at least $1 million (US) in revenues, and be under 50 years old.  I work closely with the Nashville chapter of EO.  

Major findings of this survey include:

• Nearly nine out of ten global entrepreneurs are concerned about the current economic climate
• More than half of all entrepreneurs are very concerned or concerned about obtaining funding
• Seventy percent of surveyed entrepreneurs are highly confident or confident about surviving the economic crisis
• More than 80 percent of those surveyed believe that entrepreneurs will play a significant role in economic recovery
• One in five entrepreneurs is more likely to start a business now than they were last year, and more than half are equally as likely
• Almost half of respondents anticipate an increase in revenues in 2009, and a quarter expect revenue levels to remain the same as 2008
• Globally, more than a third of entrepreneurs surveyed will increase "green" initiatives, while 45 percent will maintain their current commitment level
• Nearly 60 percent of entrepreneurs surveyed will maintain their current commitment level and nearly a quarter will increase the priority of corporate social responsibility
• Forty four percent of global respondents anticipated that the Obama administration would have a positive effect on their businesses
• U.S.-based entrepreneurs are split regarding the new administration's impact on their business: 39 percent expect a positive impact and 40 percent expect a negative impact

In short, this group of entrepreneurs are concerned about the short-run, but confident about the long-term and their ability to contribute to the recovery as it occurs.