This research is a case study based on an entrepreneurship located in Henderson, Kentucky called HorseFeathers Gifts. HorseFeathers Gifts supplies handmade, vintage-inspired jewelry and accessories to customers all over the world. The case study documents the path taken by HorseFeathers Gifts’ owners, showing exactly how the entrepreneurship reached the successful position that it currently holds. Based on the case studies available and a review of the literature, it is apparent that no other case studies like this one exist. Information for this case was gathered by interviewing both owners of HorseFeathers Gifts. The interviews helped me to learn about the business’ story from the day it was first engendered until the present day. This case study displays the business’ processes, successes, and failures, and ultimately gives struggling or aspiring entrepreneurs advice on how to better their own chances of business survival.

Researchers and practitioners have recognized the need for business leaders to establish effective internal control frameworks. Some small and medium enterprises (SME) leaders lack strategies for improving internal control systems. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore the strategies leaders of SMEs in Nigeria use for improving internal control practices. Building on the internal control theory and transactional leadership theory, semistructured face-to-face and phone interviews were conducted with 8 purposively-selected leaders of SMEs in Nigeria who successfully implemented internal control practices. The 5 themes that emerged from the thematic analysis of the interview data were: segregation of duty; adherence to processes, policies, and procedures; staffing, training, and experience; information technology; and staff empowerment and management commitment. The findings from this study indicate that leaders of SMEs in Nigeria use similar strategies to improve internal control practices. All participants used segregation of duty and adherence to processes, policies, and procedures as strategies for improving internal control practices. SME leaders should possess adequate leadership skills for improving internal control systems in their business. The result of this study may contribute to positive social change by providing SME leaders with knowledge on strategies for improving internal control practices which will minimize loss of assets and boost profitability and business sustainability. With increase in business profitability, leaders of SMEs will increase the firms' corporate social responsibility through payment of more taxes, and provision of employment opportunities and social amenities to the local community.

Small businesses in Zimbabwe make up 94% of the country's business population but only contribute 15% to the country's economy due to a high failure rate during the first 5 years. The purpose of this descriptive multiple case study was to explore strategies and skills that may contribute to the sustainability of small businesses during the first 5 years. The study population consisted of 5 small business owners in Ntepe village in Zimbabwe who had sustained their businesses for the first 5 years of operations. The conceptual framework that grounded this study was management theory. The data collection process involved conducting semistructured interviews with small business owners. Data analysis involved the adoption of methodological triangulation, thematic analysis, and member checking to ensure reliability and credibility of the data collected. The data collected presented two main themes: developing leadership skills and planning for positive performance. Key attributes and skills of a small business leader include trustworthiness, ability to lead resolutions that solve problems, effective communication of quality expectations, development of customer focus, and ability to address the needs of employees. Planning for positive performance includes goal setting, creating policies and procedures, and developing a control system for financial activities. This study may contribute to social change by providing data on proven strategies used by small business managers to sustain their businesses during the first 5 years of operations. The community may benefit from owners being better prepared to sustain their small businesses, given that these businesses may then hire employees and contribute to the local economy.

Most multilevel marketers lose money and quit within the first year of operations because of a lack of effective strategies for building and retaining a productive downline. The purpose of this multiple case study was to apply Cantillon's entrepreneurship theory to explore strategies used by 3 multilevel marketers from 3 different multilevel marketing companies with operations based in New York. Participant selection was purposeful and based on the number of years the participants had been in multilevel marketing and their generated income. Data collection occurred through semistructured interviews with open-ended questions of the participants and a review of company training documents and videos. Data from the interviews and training were examined, and key ideas were documented and analyzed using a 6-step data analysis process, including listing and grouping the collected data, considering all data before reducing or eliminating any, grouping the data by research questions, formulating the data into themes, documenting the experience, and presenting the data findings. Three themes emerged from the data: entrepreneurial mindset, strong leadership and support, and training and development. Adopting strategies described in this study may contribute to social change by increasing the success rate among multilevel marketers, thus reducing unemployment, resulting in more taxable income and increased tax revenue, and producing a positive effect on the economy in New York area.

The federal government has been inconsistent in meeting the mandated contracting set-aside goals of 3% to aid service-disabled veteran small business owners. Guided by the general systems theory, the purpose of this qualitative exploratory case study was to explore what strategies an owner and 2 senior managers of a small service-disabled veteran-owned business in the Washington, DC metropolitan used to obtain federal contracts. The owner and senior members represented those responsible for strategic vision, development of business opportunities, and the company acquisition process. Data were collected from semistructured face-to-face interviews and corporate documents. Member checking and transcript review were completed to strengthen trustworthiness of interpretations of the participants' responses. Based on the methodological triangulation of the data sources collected, 6 themes emerged from the data analysis as key strategies to obtain federal contracts: business practices, business development of opportunities to attain growth, marketing to obtain opportunities to bid, networking to gain industry knowledge on trends and markets, understanding federal government contracts which emphasized the federal acquisition system access and availability of procurement information, and contract bidding which emphasized the importance of solution development. The findings from the study may contribute to social change by providing insights and strategies for service-disabled veteran small business owners in sustaining profitability through obtaining government contracts. The data from this study may contribute to the prosperity of the veteran small business owners, their employees, their families, and local communities.

Research suggests that children of self-employed parents and children belonging to family businesses are much more likely to pursue entrepreneurial careers. But while nature is a critical driving force behind intergenerational entrepreneurship, nurture seems to be even more important. The next question, and the overarching goal of this dissertation, is how do enterprising families – defined as families who own more than one business, but don't necessarily do so together – nurture the next generation of entrepreneurs? Of particular importance to discovering the process of intergenerational entrepreneurship, is understanding why some siblings follow an entrepreneurial path while others actively avoid it. Using a constructivist grounded theory approach, 35 family members across eight enterprising families were interviewed. The findings suggest a critical determinant of who becomes an entrepreneur is based on children's entrepreneurial sensemaking, which they form throughout their experiences in childhood and adolescence. Child-specific characteristics, such as entrepreneurial innateness, as well as the presence of family system facilitators, were critical factors that influenced the valence of children's entrepreneurial sensemaking (i.e., negative, positive, balanced), which in turn influenced their career trajectories (i.e., never entrepreneurs, legacy entrepreneurs, open professionals). These findings have important practical implications for the sustainability of enterprising families.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Drexel University, 2006. / Includes abstract and vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 92-97).

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In this paper, I analyze how firm attributes such as their age, industry, nature of industry, spinoff status and debt ratio influence venture-capital financing decision. I look at a sample of 280 firms that went public in the United States between 2015- 2019. This paper finds that firm age and debt are negatively related to the likelihood of being venture-capital backed. It also finds that firms in technology and biotechnology industries are more likely to be backed by a venture-capitalist.

African Americans are among the fastest growing entrepreneurial minority group in the United States, but they continue to struggle with sustaining these new business ventures. Evidence suggests that African American business entrepreneurs experience an increased failure rate with a 4-year business survival rate of 39%. Reducing the failure rate would significantly add to the U.S. economy (an estimated $2.5 trillion) and create nearly 12 million more jobs. The purpose of this single case study was to explore the strategies and behaviors of an award-winning African American entrepreneur in Miami Dade County who has remained in business over 20 years. The conceptual framework for this study was entrepreneurship theory. The data were collected through a semistructured interview with the participant, a review of published news media data, and a review of financial and marketing documents. Member checking was completed with the participant to strengthen credibility and trustworthiness of interpretations. The findings revealed several qualities about this entrepreneur, including innovativeness, internal locus of control, and self-efficacy attributed to business success. The participant also leveraged education and family networks as social capital to reach firm sustainability, as well as bootstrapping to mitigate the lack of financial capital. The information learned from these findings may contribute to social change by providing insight into the necessary strategies and behaviors required by African American entrepreneurs to stay in business beyond 4 years.