Bad economy can be a good time to start a business

By Jim Hart

The Sandy Post, Mar 3, 2009, Updated Oct 30, 2009

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“But now there is more of an impetus for people to start their dream business,” she said. “They’re not giving up a steady paycheck (nowadays) because it is already diminished or gone.”

One of the reasons why it is more likely that a business started in a down economy would be successful is what it requires of its owners, according to Wenzel.

“It forces the founders to pay closer attention to their cash flow and balance sheets,” she said, “and that creates good business habits, in terms of managing their budgets.”

The potential business owners also are forced to take a long look at their business plan to be sure it will survive.

“When the economy tanks,” Wenzel said, “there is this whole disruption, and things have to change. So when change is happening, that’s a good time to do something new.”

A new business’ competitors likely are weakened by the state of the economy, Wenzel said, which could make it easier for a new business to compete.

It is very important to have enough capital to make a new business successful, she said, and to be able to recover start-up costs.

“I have seen businesses go out of business because the owners didn’t understand how much money they needed to capitalize their endeavor,” she said. “The key is getting the support you need, in terms of expertise, to do it right.”

That level of education and research to develop a business plan that will succeed can be obtained through the SBA as well as with help from the Mt. Hood Community College Small Business Development Center.

The MHCC center, located in Gresham, is coming to Sandy at the invitation of the local chamber to present a series of workshops that includes the opportunity for individual business counseling.

The first workshop in the series is set for Tuesday, March 10, at the Sandy chamber office.

For more information, call the chamber at 503-668-4006, call the center at 503-491-7658, visit the SBA Web site at www.sba.gov/advo or write to gerri.raisanen@mhcc.edu.

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