Is the downturn in the economy to be credited?
AMARILLO, TEXAS -- This year the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) planned to help out at least 305 interested clients. But, in just six months, they have already seen around 350 -- that is a record number for the period.
The center's director says the downturn in the economy is causing interest in small business to spike.
He says it is during rough economic times that folks tend to evaluate their happiness in their current jobs and start to realize that if they work for themselves, they cannot get laid off.
"Anytime we have this kind of turmoil in society my theory is people start asking themselves these questions: Am I happy? Is this what I really want to do? Because if there is a time to make a change the time may be now," said P.J. Pronger, SBDC director.
So is the increasing interest in small business a good or a bad indicator of the strength of the local economy?
"There is no doubt that in this national financial crisis some part of it is going to settle in on us and cause us some pain," said Pronger. "But the flip side is if you can find the opportunity then you can take what exists now and makes something good out of it."
But is now really a good time to look at starting a new small business? It seems risky in a sluggish economy.
"There are people that see tremendous opportunity in this economy that we're in and I think that's well founded," said Pronger. "If you can spot the opportunities that exist right now you're in a great position to get in and benefit from that."
Pronger says that people have faith in small business to help the economy far more than they do in big business.
Unfortunately, some small business start-ups are finding it harder to acquire loans as big national banks have tightened their belts.
