An examination of the burdens faced by entrepreneurs at start-up and five years later

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to consider the burdens faced by small business entrepreneurs in North Dakota.

Design/methodology/approach

Two surveys of entrepreneurs are reported on, assessing burdens at start-up and five years later. Burdens are compared within each time period, across time periods, and are linked to industry type and business size. The study also compares survivors and non-survivors, and considers whether survivorship is linked to initial burdens.

Findings

Regulatory factors and taxes were not as burdensome in the initial time period, compared to workforce and financing factors. In the follow-up survey property taxes were the largest burden, particularly among larger businesses. Among survivors, availability of capital was more burdensome at start-up and permitting and licensing complexity at follow-up. Survivors had more employees and rated permit/license complexity as more of a burden compared to non-survivors. Cross-industry burden differences were noted. Finally, businesses with more labor availability struggles at start-up were less likely to survive, and labor market burdens increased for businesses closer to the oil boom area.

Research limitations/implications

Limitations mainly relate to the sample businesses, which are all from a single state. This potential issue is elaborated on in the manuscript.

Originality/value

The contribution of this research primarily relates to the innovative design of using pre/post surveys to directly assess the opinions of entrepreneurs, allowing the study of burdens across time, survivorship, and industry effects.

Citation

Jensen, J.L. (2015), "An examination of the burdens faced by entrepreneurs at start-up and five years later", Journal of Entrepreneurship and Public Policy, Vol. 4 No. 2, pp. 152-170. https://doi.org/10.1108/JEPP-07-2014-0028