The National Dialogue on Entrepreneurship newsletter (free subscription) has issued its entrepreneurship trends for 2005:

• Economic Development Becomes More Entrepreneurial - Economic developers are beginning to realize that spurring entrepreneurial activity should be a key part of their programs. “Many states are unveiling new programs, and the federal government is also offering its support.”

• Equity Capital will be More Plentiful - “…the supply of equity capital appears to be growing. Angel investing is on the rise, and established venture capital (VC) firms are doing well. The VC business has stabilized, the initial public offering (IPO) market has rebounded, and firms are aggressively searching for new investment opportunities. Many industry watchers have predicted that early stage investing will likely grow. As always, VC investing will focus heavily on new technology sectors, with software (especially security and storage), and life sciences (especially health care services) garnering much attention.”

• Health Care and Other Benefits Drag on Small Businesses - The cost of providing employee benefits is a growing burden on small business. Aging baby boomers will require retirement benefits and flexible working arrangements.

The National Dialogue on Entrepreneurship is a quasi-public initiative designed to improve awareness of the benefits of entrepreneurship in the United States.

Editor’s Note: This is the eleventh in our series of articles on 2005 trends predictions. We are comparing and contrasting trends predictions from different sources that will impact the small business market in 2005 and beyond. See our 2005 Trends index for more.

 Email This Post |  Print This Post