The Chances of Financial Success (and Loss) from Small Business Ownership

William J. Dennis and Lloyd W. Fernald

Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 2001, vol. 26, issue 1, 75-83

Abstract: The odds of forming a profitable venture are a critical issue for those weighing the risk of business entry. However, few measures exist to help potential business owners assess their chances of forming a financially successful enterprise. This research examines the probability of financial success from business ownership In terms of (1) profit, break-even, or loss during the owner's tenure, and (2) sufficient profit or loss between firm formation and termination to alter the owner's personal financial condition. The analyses rely on reports from a sample of 783 business owners who recently terminated their firms. Results indicate that 50% more small business owners operate a profitable venture during the marriage of owner and business than operate an unprofitable one. Just 17% form profitable ventures that improve the owner's overall financial standing, while 6% form unprofitable ventures that negatively affect it.

Date: 2001
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

Downloads: (external link)
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/104225870102600105 (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:entthe:v:26:y:2001:i:1:p:75-83

DOI: 10.1177/104225870102600105

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice
Bibliographic data for series maintained by SAGE Publications ().