According a recent study sponsored by Intuit, the face of small business will be dramatically changing. Boomers will reject retirement, driven by diminished job security, disappearing pensions and health benefits, and the need to match savings with longer life expectancies. Other findings:

• American entrepreneurship will reflect a huge upswing in the number of women. The glass ceiling that has limited women's growth in corporate career paths will send a rich talent pool to the small business sector.

• Immigrant entrepreneurs will drive a new wave of globalization and the outcome of U.S. immigration will affect how this segment performs over the next decade.

• Contract workers, accidental and social entrepreneurs will fuel a proliferation of personal businesses and will produce a more independent workforce seeking a better work-life balance.

• Entrepreneurship will be a widely adopted curriculum at educational, trade and vocational institutions. As a result people not traditionally exposed to business education will learn small-business management skills as well.

My family business is property management and real estate investing. We're family owned and operated in California for over 15 years and expanding into the Texas market. We own several multi-family units. It all began with my parents. Watching them in business as a boy impacted me so much. As I got older I realized what my family was doing. They came from the Philippines and wanted to play real life monopoly. Education is the key to our success and we’re still learning something new every day.

I took the My Own Business Course to help me expand into other businesses. The course helped me with writing a business plan and in expanding the family business. The business plan steers you in the right direction just like when you’re driving a car. The course was awesome. I'm ready to raise more capital when the time comes.

In this issue, Maureen Costello, MOBI Trustee and President of Pacific Wholesale Pet, reviews what credentials helped her when she purchased her business.

We welcome your questions to be answered in this Newsletter feature! Here is our Q and A for this edition:

Question:
 
I'm new to this website and I worked through the first two sessions only to come away with the same question that I had when I began. I was laid off and there are no real prospects of getting a job with my specific skills. So I'm debating about getting some work-a-day job that pays a fraction of what I made until I have enough put together to start my own business. Or should I crack open one of my two 401Ks, eat the tax penalty, and get started right away? I'm not getting any younger. My gut feeling is to come up with the business plan, see if I can borrow the start-up money and if not, crack open that 401K to get myself going again.
 
Answer:
 
The question "What should one risk?" is probably the second most important one an entrepreneur will face, the most important one being "What business should I start?" I think it would be a bad mistake to take cash out of your 401Ks. Aside from the penalties imposed, existing plans should remain intact for their intended purpose: retirement.
 
Instead, after putting together your business plan, I'd suggest you find that work-a-day job in the same field in which you intend to open your business. This will furnish some cash and more importantly, some hands-on experience in your intended field. Then start your own business in the smallest way possible, like serving one customer really well. This could apply to a great variety of businesses from becoming a landscape gardener to a main frame consultant. Do the first job cheaply (to get it) and build from there. In my case, it was one donut shop at a time.
 
Phil Holland, Founder of My Own Business, Inc.