South Floridians are more likely to start or run a new business than to have a baby. They are even more likely to be entrepreneurs than to get married.
The comparisons are part of a study in which researchers at Florida International University’s Eugenio Pino and Family Global Entrepreneurship Center measured the level of entrepreneurial activity in Miami-Dade, Broward and Monroe counties.
“South Florida Entrepreneurship: The 2004 Assessment,” reports 330,000 individuals are involved in starting a business or managing one less than four-years old. Prof. Paul Reynolds, the lead researcher and director of the Entrepreneurship Research Institute at the Pino Center, said the economic impact of this massive amount of activity is large, but the entrepreneurial process is not well understood as these new findings are not, as yet, widely known.
“When you consider that entrepreneurship generates about half of all new jobs in an economy, this group of people is very important,” Reynolds said. “The new data can give us more precise information about entrepreneurial behavior, and consequently helps develop more focused policy recommendations.”
Emphasis on economic development has always been made on technology and export oriented business ventures, but the lack of systemic data has prevented an understanding of the considerable economic impact of entrepreneurial activity, he said.
In addition to the measure of the total number of people involved, the study looks at the involvement of minorities in entrepreneurship; the education levels of entrepreneurs, their income levels and aspirations for their new businesses.
One of the myths dispelled by the study is that most people who start their own business do it out of necessity. While Miami-Dade has a higher percentage of necessity entrepreneurs when compared to the rest of the country, most people—four in five--go into business because they see an opportunity, the study found.
“Some areas of economic development are clear cut, but others, such as entrepreneurial activity, are not that well understood and drafting effective legislation that can propel this vital part of the economy can be a challenge,” said Rep. Marcelo Llorente, vice chair of the Florida House of Representative’s Transportation and Economic Development Appropriations Committee. “Having data and analysis such as this is the key for us when we start designing economic policy for the state.”
Among other findings in the study:
· The Cuban entrepreneurial enclave is no longer a distinctive feature of the South Florida economy; Hispanics are more active in start-ups in North Florida.
· Optimism among South Florida’s new businesspersons is higher than in the rest of the country, with many expecting to add new positions in their businesses.
· South Florida has a higher percentage than the rest of the nation of entrepreneurs with less than an 8th grade education.
“As we accumulate knowledge on the dynamics of business creation, we can start making recommendations that can make economic development policies more efficient, but also give them a higher impact,” Reynolds said.
To see a copy of the study, log on to http://www.entrepreneurship.fiu.edu/entrepreneurship_florida.htm.
