The World of the Entrepreneurs?

Around the globe

Welcome to the world of the entrepreneur! Around the world, growing numbers of people are
realizing their dreams of owning and operating their own businesses. Entrepreneurship continues
to thrive in nearly every corner of the world. Globally, one in eight adults is actively
engaged in launching a business.

Business initiation

 Research by the Kauffman Foundation shows that in the United
States alone, entrepreneurs launch 476,000 businesses each month.

 Economical explosion

This entrepreneurial spirit
is the most significant economic development in recent business history. In the United States
and around the globe, these heroes of the new economy are reshaping the business environment
and creating a world in which their companies play an important role in the vitality of the global
economy. With amazing vigor, their businesses have introduced innovative products and services,
pushed back technological frontiers, created new jobs, opened foreign markets, and, in the process,
provided their founders with the opportunity to do what they enjoy most. “Small businesses
have been at the core of our economy’s growth over the last few years,” says Winslow Sargeant,
chief counsel of the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Office of Advocacy.

money explosion

Importance of entrepreneurs 

Entrepreneurial activity is essential to a strong global economy. Many of the world’s largest
companies continue to engage in massive downsizing campaigns, dramatically cutting the number
of employees on their payrolls. This flurry of “pink slips” has spawned a new population of
entrepreneurs: “castoffs” from large corporations (in which many of these individuals thought
they would be lifetime ladder climbers) with solid management experience and many productive
years left before retirement. According to the Small Business Administration, during a recent
one-year period, the largest companies in the United States (those with 500 or more employees)
shed 1.7 million net jobs; during the same period, small businesses with fewer than 20 employees
created 287,000 net jobs!

Entrepreneurship a refuge to downsizing victims

One casualty of this downsizing has been the long-standing notion of job security in large
corporations. As a result, many people no longer see launching a business as a risky career path.
Having been victims of downsizing or having witnessed large companies execute layoffs with
detached precision, these people see entrepreneurship as the ideal way to create their own job
security and success. Rather than pursue corporate careers after graduation, many college students
are choosing to launch companies of their own. They prefer to control their own destinies
by building their own businesses.
Mission To engage leading entrepreneurs to learn and grow.

Young Entrepreneurs' Organization

Entrepreneurs' Organization (EO) is a global non-profit organization, whose stated mission is to "Engage leading entrepreneurs to learn and grow." EO was formerly known as Young Entrepreneurs' Organization (YEO). The organization was founded in 1987.

History

In 1987, 22 young entrepreneurs created an organization whose goal was stated to be "to provide learning and networking opportunities for its members". The Young Entrepreneurs' Organization (YEO) expanded throughout the United States and Canada. Within a few years, membership grew to include chapters in Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. In 1996, YEO helped create the World Entrepreneurs’ Organization (WEO), which served as an alumni organization for YEO members who, after the age of 40, wanted to continue their involvement in an entrepreneurial membership organization. In 2005, YEO and WEO merged to form the Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) as it is known today.

Founding members

Verne Harnish is the founder of the Young Entrepreneurs’ Organization and recruited 22 entrepreneurs as founding board members to initially fund the start-up of the organization. Kevin Harrigton, of Shark Tank fame, was one of the founding board members, in addition to Alfred F. Gerriets, II. recognized 30 years ago as an aspiring entrepreneur in the book "The Dynamos". who still thinks outside the box. 

Additional programs

The Entrepreneurs' Organization runs two additional programs: the Global Student Entrepreneur Awards  and the Accelerator Program.

The Global Student Entrepreneur Awards (GSEA) is an awards program for high school, undergraduate, and graduate students who own and operate a business. EO GSEA operates as an international series of competitions for student entrepreneurs who are attending a recognized high school, college or university, who own a for-profit business, are principally responsible for its operation and have been generating revenue for a minimum of six consecutive months.

The organization's Inventory of Skills program enables members to confer with one-another to obtain information about business matters and to solve various business problems.

Global Entrepreneur Indicator

The Global Entrepreneur Indicator (GEI) began in 2010 as a semi-annual survey of the membership of the Entrepreneurs’ Organization. The Global Entrepreneur Indicator surveys a globally representative sample of entrepreneurs to predict economic trends in a number of areas, including job creation, profits and debt loads, economic forecasting, and the business environment. In 2012, the GEI found that approximately 60% of businesses experienced a net profit, while 59% increased their employee headcount.