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The climate for startups? 3 women weigh in
Posted by Ann D. at 8/21/2009 12:00 PM CDT on Chicago Business

Is now the right time to launch a business?

Facing a weak economy and stricter lending criteria, many would-be entrepreneurs have shelved their business plans.

But new research from the Kansas City, Mo.-based Kauffman Foundation indicates that the Unites States might be on the cusp of an entrepreneurship boom, triggered by the recession, an aging population and less job security.

As part of an upcoming "Enterprising Women" feature in Crain’s Chicago Business (hitting newsstands Sept. 21), Crain's contributor Monica Ginsburg asked some of Chicago’s top female executives and business owners if they thought the recession was a boom — or a bust — for entrepreneurs.

Here ’s what they had to say:

"The timing has to be established by you," says Venita Fields, senior managing director of Smith Whiley & Co., the Connecticut-based private-equity investment firm that manages three funds and $300 million in capital. "Even in a recession, if you see a need that isn’t being filled, why wait for someone else to fill it?" she says.

You cannot be ruled by fear, adds Ms. Fields, 55, who has run the firm’s Evanston-based office since 1998 after a 20-year career in corporate banking. "If it was easy, everyone would be doing it."

Chicago attorney Laurel Bellows believes there are opportunities in a recession, particularly for small businesses. Rents are lower, hiring talented people is easier, and rates may be negotiable in industries like manufacturing, advertising, Web site development and printing, she says.

"Find good vendors who have the time and will work with you at a lower cost," says Ms. Bellows, a 35-year law veteran whose Bellows Law Group specializes in women-owned businesses. "Many talented people would be very enthusiastic about having a job," she says.

Looking for funding? Try networking. When Chicago designer Maria Pinto re-launched her signature line in 2004, she met her first new business partner through a good friend.

Ms. Pinto, who comes from a family of entrepreneurs, shuttered her namesake business in 2002 and filed for federal bankruptcy protection, partly owed to embezzlement by an employee.

Two years later, she put together a new business plan and a new group of financial partners.

"Part of the challenge was that early on I felt like I couldn’t afford to hire people," says Ms. Pinto, 51 . "But there are so many people who are willing to give their time or work for you in different ways. And there are business groups and resources out there that you can afford. Many people who have been extremely successful find great joy out of helping other people."

Bottom line: "Talk to your friends," she says. "It’s way easier than we think."