The Entrepreneurial Institute: education and training for minority small business owners.

THE ENTREPRENEURIAL INSTITUTE: EDUCATION AND TRAINING FOR MINORITY SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS

The continued support for and development of minority entrepreneurs are vital for maintaining the economic health of a region, particularly in urban settings with large minority populations. Unfortunately, competitive pressures often stifle opportunities for even the most competitive small business owners. In order to improve the short- and long-term prospects for economic growth in general

and minority entrepreneurship in particular, training and technical assistance are essential. This article examines a unique training and development effort undertaken in South Florida by five colleges and universities, county government, and the private sector to: (a) encourage minority economic development, (b) fortify existing minority-owned small businesses, and (c) improve the ability of minority-owned small businesses to meet product and service needs in the private and public sectors.

THE NEED FOR MINORITY

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

The 1977 Survey of Minority-Owned Enterprises was the last comprehensive survey of minorities in business. At that time, black-owned businesses represented the largest proportion of minority-owned businesses (41 percent). However, businesses owned by entrepreneurs of Hispanic origin ranked first in business receipts, with 39 percent of the total.

In recent years, the rate of increase in nonwhite self-employment has exceeded that of white self-employment, but the increase has not been dramatic enough to substantially improve the nonwhite share of total self-employment. From 1972 to 1982, the number of nonwhite self-employed persons increased from 332,000 to 474,000 (43 percent). During this same period, the nonwhite yearly self-employment share grew from 5.9 percent to 6.8 percent. Self-employment of whites during the same decade grew from 5,034,000 to 6,788,000--an increase of 35 percent.

Minority business failures have nearly quadrupled over the past several years, according to data from the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) of the U.S. Department of Commerce. The MBDA data also reveal that failures among nonminority firms matched for size, age, and industry with the minority groups also rose about four-fold. The acuteness of this problem is highlighted by the fact that minority businesses are already grossly under-represented in the total business population. The 1977 census reveals that there were 13.9 nonfarm minority-owned businesses per thousand minority population as compared to 62.9 per thousand in the nonminority population. Only 207 minority-owned businesses nationwide had more than 100 employees. Between 1977 and 1983, nonwhite self-employment increased 5 percent (from 20 to 21 self-employed persons per 1,000); white self-employment increased 15 percent.