YourEconomy.org

YourEconomy.org is a free research tool for examining U.S. business activity at the local level over time. It was developed by the Edward Lowe Foundation and uses data from the National Establishment Time Series (NETS) database by Walls & Associates.

The database begins with Dun & Bradstreet information as its largest data source.

"YourEconomy.org presents a unique lens to view data from: Statistics are first sorted by three unique employer sectors (noncommercial, nonresident and resident establishments). Then, resident establishments are subdivided into four stages that reflect different issues companies face as they grow"

The data can be use for examining business and job growth and movement over the years at the national, state, metro and county levels. There is also an explanation of how the data from NETS differs from data available from BLS-Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Census Bureau.

Small Business Survival - entreprenurial environment by state

The SBE (Small Business and Entrepreneurship) Council recently published the 13th annual Small Business Survival Index 2008: Ranking the Policy Environment for Entrepreneurship Across the Nation. The analysis looks at the entrepreneurial environment by state, ranking states on 34 factors such as personal income tax rates, property taxes, sales taxes, worker's compensation costs, crime rate, etc. South Dakota ranks as the friendliest policy environment for entrepreneurship; Washington, DC ranks as the least friendly. Florida ranks as very friendly for entrepreneurs at number four overall. The 44-page publication includes appendices with rankings and scores on each of the separate criteria.

MBA entrepreneurs design baby incubator for poor nations

Stanford University magazine reports on a group of Stanford MBA students from the "Entrepreneurial Design for Extreme Affordability" class who designed a non-electric incubator for underweight babies in poor nations. They formed a nonprofit organization, Embrace, which plans to sell the $25 incubator concept worldwide.

Read about their project and see photos of the design here.

Kauffman Firm Survey - "the largest longitudinal survey of new businesses in the world"

For students and researchers interested in entrepreneurship and new businesses in the U.S., the Kauffman Firm Survey is "the largest longitudinal survey of news businesses in the world."

"The Kauffman Firm Survey (KFS) is a panel study of 4,928 businesses founded in 2004 and tracked over their early years of operation. The survey focuses on the nature of new business formation activity; characteristics of the strategy, offerings, and employment patterns of new businesses; the nature of the financial and organizational arrangements of these businesses; and the characteristics of their founders.

Currently, data from the baseline survey, first, and second follow-up surveys are available for analysis. The third follow-up data will be released in spring 2009."

Analyses and reports using Kauffman survey data are available through the SSRN, Social Science Research Network, to which USF subscribes. You can also download a full report (PDF) of the baseline and first follow-up survey from March 2008.

Entrepreneurship courses in college

A Classroom Path to Entrepreneurship in today's NY Times -- talks about growing trend, offering entrepreneurship courses in business schools. Includes a focus on one successful business, Nanina’s Gourmet Sauce, that grew from a course at Monmouth University in West Long Branch, N.J.