5 Entrepreneurs Who Write About Their Thoughts & Experiences
Cultivating a business is a massive endeavor that requires major investments of time, energy, and financial resources. If you're curious about what it takes to succeed, or need some motivation and advice for your own business journey, check out the informative writing of the thriving entrepreneurs listed here. This video was made with Ezvid Wikimaker.
5 Entrepreneurs Sharing Their Stories
| Name | Works |
|---|---|
| Becky McCray | Small Town Rules (co-author), Small Biz Survival (blog) |
| Carol Roth | The Entrepreneur Equation |
| Nathan Lustig | Start-Up Chile 101, Crossing Borders |
| Jen Groover | What If? and Why Not? |
| Erica Swallow | Little Launchers picture book series |
Becky McCray on the Future of Small Towns
U.S. Small Business Statistics
According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, as of 2018
- There are 30.2 million small businesses in the United States
- These make up 99.9% of all U.S. businesses
- They employ 58.9 million people
- These make up 47.5% of all U.S. employees
- Of the 294,834 U.S. companies that exported goods in 2015, 97.6% were small firms
5 Helpful Groups For Business Owners
| Name | Headquarters | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| National Association for the Self-Employed | Annapolis Junction, MD | Supports member businesses with insurance benefits, access to reduced-cost office supplies, legal assistance, advocating for legislation, tax experts, and more |
| Rising Tide Capital | Jersey City, NJ | Fights unemployment, working poverty, and underemployment by encouraging entrepreneurship through education, mentoring, coaching and access to capital. |
| Grameen America | New York, NY | Helps disadvantaged women realize their business goals and achieve economic stability and inclusion with a multi-step process involving support groups, financial training, and microloans |
| QB3 | San Francisco, CA | The University of California’s hub for innovation and entrepreneurship in life science, supports researchers and empowers Bay Area business owners to launch startups through fellowships, incubators, incorporation assistance, two seed-stage venture capital firms, and a special initiative in health technology |
| Burton D. Morgan Foundation | Hudson, OH | Funds educational programs and initiatives that use mentoring, knowledge sharing, and research in order to cultivate skills and directly support enterprising individuals in Northeast Ohio |
Jen Groover Talks Leadership
In Depth
Starting a business is an exciting opportunity that many dream of having, but failure can be more likely than success. Fortunately, there are successful entrepreneurs who want to help others by sharing the benefit of their thoughts and experiences. Whether it's for global economics from a small town perspective, or a new venture in Chile, consider the writings of the entrepreneurs listed here in no particular order.
Starting at #1, we have Becky McCray, an entrepreneur and cattle rancher who watches global trends in the economy, technology, and society from a small town perspective. McCray has owned and operated a liquor store, served as city administrator, and worked as a nonprofit executive in remote rural counties, and thus has a personal understanding of the challenges facing these communities.
McCray has dedicated herself to sharing her experiences as a rural business owner. Her Small Biz Survival blog features posts about large scale events from her perspective. Her book, Small Town Rules, co-authored with Barry Moltz, is an examination of how the rules have changed for little towns in the face of globalization, and how they can adapt.
Her book, Small Town Rules, co-authored with Barry Moltz, is an examination of how the rules have changed for little towns in the face of globalization, and how they can adapt.
Coming in at #2, is Carol Roth, a media personality, investment banker, and author of the bestselling book, The Entrepreneur Equation. She hosts the podcast, The Roth Effect, and is a weekly panelist on Fox Business's Bulls & Bears, as well as other programming. Her avid defense of capitalism, free markets, and reason finds her op-eds published in a variety of outlets.
Roth has set out to share her insights into the questions one needs to ask oneself when starting a business. The Entrepreneur Equation helps aspiring business owners to stack the odds of success in their favor and decide if entrepreneurship is the right path. Roth discusses how businesses assess value, as well as the risks and rewards involved in starting out.
Arriving at #3, we have Nathan Lustig, an investor who is currently the managing partner of Magma Partners, a seed stage investment fund and accelerator based in Santiago, Chile. Magma Partners invests in startups that put technology into large businesses and companies that have their tech base in Latin America and focus on the US and European markets.
Magma Partners invests in startups that put technology into large businesses and companies that have their tech base in Latin America and focus on the US and European markets.
Lustig arrived in 2010 with his company Entrustet as part of the Start-Up Chile pilot round. He authored his book, Start-Up Chile, to provide tips on how to best take advantage of the program and one's time in the country. In addition, Lustig regularly makes suggestions about applying to the startup, and offers advice on the entrepreneurial ecosystem and investor overview.
Next up at #4, is Jen Groover, an entrepreneur, speaker, and author. As creator of the Butler Bag and Launcher's Cafe, an online community for entrepreneurs, Groover understands that the obstacles often faced by new businesses have less to do with time and money, and more to do with fear and doubt.
Groover's first book, What If? & Why Not?, seeks to show aspiring entrepreneurs how to transform fears into action by rethinking the negative. Groover explores success stories, including her own, from personal accounts of entrepreneurs in areas such as dog walking and handbags, plus practical advice for every step of a new business.
Groover's first book, What If?
Finally at #5, we have Erica Swallow, a business owner, technology marketing leader, and children's book author. She began her career in marketing at The New York Times and later served as an editor at Mashable, a technology news site. She is the founder of Southern Swallow, a digital strategy consultancy that helps its clients tell their stories on the web.
Swallow believes that education is the key to opportunity for all, and seeks to share not only her experiences, but those of others as well. Her non-fiction picture book series, Little Launchers, is about four children with real businesses, and is focused on inspiring children everywhere to think creatively and solve problems.
