Inside Entrepreneurship: Minimizing the pain from a failing business

THIS IS THE TIME of year when I receive two kinds of letters from entrepreneurs. On the happier side are the optimistic letters from entrepreneurs seeking extra information on how to set up their new companies. These delightful letters often include descriptions of inventions, links to beta Web sites, and requests to read first drafts of business plans, grant proposals and PowerPoint slide decks.

Last week, one prospective entrepreneur reminded me that the American Dream was not just about being successful in business but the right to even own a business. She said that the freedom to have her own business "was why I came to the United States."

The tougher letters to read come from entrepreneurs who are dealing with a year-end reckoning of their failed enterprises. The sudden change in the economy, the credit crunch, some delinquent customers and probably a few missteps overwhelmed their entrepreneurial ability to take fast corrective action.

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The purpose of this column is to emphasize that a failed business doesn’t have to be a wrecking ball of pain and decimate an entrepreneur’s financial and emotional well-being.

By SUSAN SCHRETER
SPECIAL TO THE P-I

Full Story: http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/395333_schreter09.html