I enjoyed this article in yesterday’s times about people who have become entrepreneurs after losing their jobs in the most recent recession. I guess this is really unsurprising, and there have been numerous articles about this of late, but it’s always nice to see. It seems with each new downturn, there is a significant upturn in people turning to entrepreneurship. There is no cheaper and better time to go out and be an entrepreneur as the cost of starting a business has come down to literally a few hundred bucks (including legal). Even better is that the costs required to sustain a business have come way down as well, so the hurdle to sustainability is significantly lower for a vast majority of these entrepreneurs. But something I hadn’t thought of until today…the one huge hurdle that remains, especially for older first time entrepreneurs, is health insurance. The people mentioned in this article are used to good health care coverage provided by their employers. As an entrepreneur not only are you on your own in terms of health care coverage, but it is WAY more expensive as an individual or small business. I have to wonder how many people thought about pursuing a more entrepreneurial path, but had to turn back because of health care coverage. I think that’s a shame..it’s clear to see that encouraging more people to go out and create is good for us all, so lowering and removing the health care hurdle could be a significant stimulus in itself. (not making a political statement here, just an observation). There can, should, and will always be hurdles to entrepreneurship. I just don’t think health care coverage should be one.
Ny Times: Unemployment can lead to Entrepreneurship
Life Putting 