For many, the American Dream is not writing the Great American Novel. It’s owning your own business. It’s being your own boss and taking control of your destiny. And as the U.S. economy moves into what appears to be a sustained recovery from the Covid-created recession, more and more aspiring entrepreneurs are asking themselves, “Is now the time?”
WE’RE ON THE VERGE OF A BOOM
The answer is yes, for a number of reasons. First, the American economy is not simply beginning to climb out of recession. We may be on the verge of a new boom that will lead the world. According to a recent article in The Washington Post, “…the U.S. economy is gathering so much steam that its gains will not stay at home. Demand for goods and services this year is expected to spill well beyond U.S. borders, making the United States the largest single contributor to global growth for the first time since 2005, according to Oxford Economics.”
RECESSIONS CREATE OPPORTUNITY
Second, one of the most unfortunate aspects of the recession – the closure of many independent, “mom & pop” businesses — has ironically created opportunities for others. Many storefronts and other properties remain vacant. Commercial landlords, eager to turn shuttered properties back into income producers, are offering lower rents and other incentives to attract new tenants.
FAVORABLE BUSINESS LOANS AND GOVERNMENT INCENTIVES
Third, for those who want to start a business by coopting one of the tried and true techniques of the wealthy – using someone else’s money – there are financing opportunities aplenty. Eager to stimulate the economy, the U.S. government, through the Small Business Administration and other agencies, are making business loans available at some of the lowest rates, and with some of the lowest fees, in history.
Legislation passed in response to the Covid Crisis, such as the Cares Act, provides additional relief to qualified borrowers, such as emergency loans with forgiveness provisions and business loans in which the government will cover the first several months of payments. And veterans have the benefit of additional government programs, along with substantial discounts offered by franchise companies who want to both reward them for their service, and benefit from the discipline and enthusiasm that vets bring to the table.
So, as we emerge from hard times, opportunity beckons. The question now becomes how we translate this world of possibility into reality. Start a business from scratch? Buy an independent business? Buy a franchise? There are pros and cons to each approach, and they’ll be covered in Part 2 of this article.