A Study of the Differences in Training Preferences between Full-Time and Part-Time Entrepreneurs

ABSTRACT Part-time entrepreneurs compose a substantial and understudied segment of small businesses. In this study, the attitudes towards training courses are examined for part-time and full-time small business owners. Results found that part-time entrepreneurs preferred different training methods and topics than their full-time counterparts. The findings of the study are discussed. Finally, the limitations and implications of the research are offered, as well as suggestions for future research. INTRODUCTION Entrepreneurship is a critical element of the American dream: the belief that through hard work, resolve, and persistence, one can achieve a better life via financial prosperity. Entrepreneurship is primarily fostered by the development of small businesses. In this study, small business owners are used to represent entrepreneurs. Small businesses are a key foundation of the United States economy. Such firms employ slightly more than one half of the private sector workforce, produce about one half of the private sector output, are responsible for 52% of sales, and encompass 96% of all U. S. exporters (Small Business Administration, Office of Advocacy, 2005; U.S. Department of Labor, 2006). Given their importance to the economy, it is not surprising that interest in small business and entrepreneurial research and education continues to proliferate. The purpose of the current study is to conduct an exploratory test of potential differences in attitudes toward training courses between full-time and part-time business owners. The federal government has long recognized the importance of small businesses to the economy and in providing training to these business owners. Following WWII, the Office of Small Business (OSB), housed out of the Department of Commerce, began providing services that were mainly educational in nature. The philosophy of the OSB was that businesses failed due to a lack of information, knowledge, and skills. In the early 1950s, President Elsenhower proposed creating a new small business agency which would become known as the Small Business Administration (SBA). The Small Business Act passed in 1953 was aimed to aid, counsel, assist and protect, insofar as is possible, the interests of small business concerns and ensure small businesses a fan- proportion of government contracts and sales of surplus property (U.S. Small Business Administration, 2006, p. 1). The SBA was created by the Act to provide various services including training to small business owners. Sponsored by the Office of Entrepreneurial Development of the Small Business Administration, the Small Business Training Network is a web site offering free training courses, workshops, and other educational resources to small business owners. A sizeable number of small businesses are run on a part-time basis, and the existence of part-time entrepreneurs has been documented. During business start-up phases, 65% of entrepreneurs report having full- or part-time jobs in addition to their new businesses (Jackson, 2002). Another estimate suggests that as much as 80% maintain full- or part-time employment outside the entrepreneurial venture (Reynolds, Bygrave, & Autio, 2004). Almost two thirds of nonagricultural small businesses are full-tune, while one third operate on a part-time basis (U.S. Small Business Administration, Office of Advocacy, 1998). Women are more likely than men to operate small businesses part-time (U.S. Small Business Administration, Office of Advocacy, 2005). More African-Americans and women work part-time in their businesses than Caucasian males (U.S. Department of Commerce, 1997). Forty-nine percent of married women who are selfemployed generally work part-time (Lombard, 2001). Almost one-half of African-American women start their businesses part-time, as do 35% of Hispanic women and 22% of Asian and Caucasian women (National Foundation for Women Business Owners, 1998). The phenomenon is not limited to the U. …