By the Bootstraps

Verse Chicago (1821 W. North) opened in the winter of 2009, once owner Kortnee Doss returned to Chicago after living with her fiance in Spain. Doss was saddened to find that in her absence, a huge, thriving fashion industry hadn’t developed.

“I feel like a lot of our young and raw talent, they leave as a result of that,” she said. “They don’t incubate (in Chicago). They don’t raise (people) to plant their roots here. They go to New York, they go to L.A. or they leave the country.”
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Even though small business creation is declining nationwide, there are a few brave souls out there creating new businesses. According to an article written Monday in the Chicago Tribune, thousands of professionals are becoming their own boss after losing their jobs:

The Kauffman Foundation is calling “The Coming Entrepreneurship Boom.” Triggered by the recession, an aging population and less job security, a perfect storm of entrepreneurship conditions is emerging, according to a new report from the Kansas City, Mo.-based non-profit.

By building their own businesses, many hope to earn an incomes that will supplement lower wages or replace a lost job. Leading this movement of “accidential entreprenuiarlism” are people between 55 and up, according to the article. People between the ages of 55 and 64 “start businesses more often,” the Tribune article said.Once able to rely on accrued retirement funds to relax during their golden years, the rate of self-employment in this age group has jumped from 15.6 to 17.3 percent, according to the New York Times “You’re the Boss” blog.

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