The Venture Edge

According to a Wells Fargo/Gallup poll published today, more than one in three -- 36% -- of U.S. small business owners reported that they are moderately or very worried that they will go out of business in 2012. Not only that, but 32% reported that they are moderately or very worried that they will be unable to pay their employees in 2012. When asked what they think is the most important problem facing small business owners like them, the top-three responses were: Complying with government regulations (22%), consumer confidence (15%), and lack of consumer demand (12%).  

A client of mine in Texas recently asked me if I had ever read the book Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand, mentioning that it was one of his favorites. I admitted that although an early-'60s, 1,000-page+ paperback edition of the book has graced my bookshelf for as long as I can remember, I had never gotten around to reading it. Then, when a colleague of mine -- Traci Fenton, founder and CEO of WorldBlu -- mentioned to me that she was about to read the book, I knew that my time had finally come. I dusted off that old, yellowed copy of the book and dug in -- reading it in 5 and 10 minute bursts while waiting to pick up my daughter at school each day.