1. Micro-businesses in the Shadow of Crisis How Can Non-traditional Entrepreneurs Contribute to Boston’s Economy? Alvaro Lima, Director of Research, BRA Northeastern University, January 2010
2.
3.
4. Boston’s Total Employment by Employment-Size Class (1-4 Employees) Source: U.S. County Business Patterns, 2002, BRA Research Division Analysis
5.
6. Number of Establishments by Employment-Size Class (1-4 Employees) Source: U.S. County Business Patterns, 2002, BRA Research Division Analysis
7.
8.
9. What is the problem with the actual research on micro-businesses? Their conclusions and policy implications are drawn from data and not from theory or practice…
10.
11.
12.
13. SUCCESSFUL INNER-CITY ENTERPRISES GROW SLOWLY Enterprise Stage Duration (1) (1) from business inception until 1999 Source: ICIC Boston & BCG 1 4 4 3 2 4.5 9 6 8 7 5.5 5 8 0.5 3 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 Your Limo First Choice Limo Brighton Limo Primetime Express Majestic Cleaning Banshee Mass Paint & Cleaning Nartoone Security Bob the Chef's City Fresh Foods Merengue Tacos El Charro Years Transportation Building Maintenance Restaurants/ Catering Self-Employed Small Employer Growth Business ?? ??
14.
15.
Notas do Editor
Thanks Steve for this nice introduction I would like to start by sharing with you an enterprise development framework. In the process I will make some general points and present some examples regarding this process in Boston’s inner city. This framework can be understood as both an evolutionary process or we can think of it as a series of entry points in this process. Lets start here (first step)… Domestic and wage labor. Suppose we have a family unit in which some of its members work at home performing some domestic duties and others work outside the household as wage laborers... They complement the family income with their in kind (cooking, for example) and monetary incomes (from cooking in a restaurant, for example). Suppose now that they decide to open their own home-based cooking business… They are transitioning to a “self employment mode of production.” The general point here is that for every transition from one social form of production to the other there are enabling factors, benefits, and challenges. Enabling factors are here understood as “business environment factors” - external factors such as taxation, capital availability, technical support systems, training, etc. - and “operational factors” - internal factors such as technical skills, business skills, equity capital, etc.