New study on microbusiness networks

Posted by on July 23, 2004

Check out this new survey of microbusiness owners by researcher Charles Matthews and Terry Lonier of Working Solo, an excellent information source on microbusiness. The study surveyed 625 small business owners and asked them to discuss their participation in various business network activities. 79.5% of the group was part of at least one industry association, but 52.6% indicated that they did not participate in more structured and intense peer interactions, such as Master Mind groups. These types of peer group activities have been shown to be very helpful for new entrepreneurs, yet few microbusiness owners are participating in such groups. The authors speculate that microbusiness owners are often unaware of such groups or lack the time to participate in this more intensive format. The study, Measuring the Impact of Social Networks on Entrepreneurial Success: The Master Mind Principle by Terry Lonier and Charles Matthews is available at http://www.workingsolo.com/LonierSocNetworks.pdf