Assignment #5 - Business Succession Planning
Dr. Kerry Lanza

Entrepreneurship & Innovation – BUS521
12/11/2011

1. Discuss the current small business start up success and failure rate in the U.S. market. As of 2009, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy there were 627,200 in successful start-ups, 595,600 in business closures and another 43,546 in bankruptcies. According to the Small Business Administration, over seventy five percent of jobs are created by small companies; and according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' (BLS) job-growth projections for small businesses in the next ten years are on the rise for the following categories: IT, employment services, management, home health care, childcare, and entertainment. However, the business closures and bankruptcies are staggering. The recent failure rates in the US are due to a variety of reasons; the greatest at this point is the global economic recession.
2. Discuss the red flags for a small business related to business failure and bankruptcy. Approximately fifty percent of company start-ups shut their doors in approximately four years. This is due business owners not recognizing red flags such as insufficient planning, meager cash-flow managing, undercapitalizing, and too much debt. Many businesses fail to due the appropriate market research which would have justified whether there was a demand for their service or product. A major red flag, yet one time and again overlooked, is when a business finances with debt rather than equity. Another red flag is trying to grow a company with no infrastructure in position. Another red flag is when companies slowly slip away from their vision, mission statement and core values, in lieu of bigger business and more money. And yet another red flag is when they start losing their customer, whether demand drops or due to the