Nov 15, 2023

Question of the Day: What source of funding is used most often to start new businesses?

Can you guess how most entrepreneurs are paying when they start their new business?

Answer: 83% of businesses use personal or family savings to get started

A person holding a jar full of coins that's labeled "savings."

Questions:

  1. Why do you think such a high percentage of businesses use personal or family savings as their primary source of funding? How might this affect the type and size of businesses that can be launched?
  2. How might a lack of savings for low-income and other marginalized groups hinder diversity and representation in the business world?
  3. How might early exposure to entrepreneurship and financial education influence an individual's willingness and/or ability to save and start a business?

 

Click here for the ready-to-go slides for this Question of the Day that you can use in your classroom.

 

Behind the Numbers (altLINE):

"When considering startup capital, there are two main categories of funding new businesses use: equity and debt. According to the SBA, 3 in 4 new businesses use personal savings; roughly 1 in 5 use a bank loan (19%).

Other sources of startup income in both categories include a loan from family or friends, venture capital funding, or leveraging earnings from an existing business.

Sources like federal grants have also become more popular in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, and support for small businesses is on the rise. In 2021, for instance, the Biden administration awarded $154.2 billion in federal contract dollars to small businesses, up $8 billion from the previous year."


----------------

NGPF's Entrepreneurship mini-unit will give you lots of tools to get your students thinking like innovators and problem solvers!

----------------

To receive a Question of the Day in your email inbox, subscribe to the NGPF Blog.

About the Author

Ryan Wood

Ryan grew up with and maintains a love for learning. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay with a degree in Business Administration and worked in sports marketing for a number of years. After living in Texas, Colorado, Tennessee, and Minnesota, the call of education eventually brought Ryan back to his home state of Wisconsin where he was a Business and Marketing teacher for three years. In his free time he likes to spend time with his wife and daughter, play basketball, read, and go fishing. Now with NGPF, Ryan is excited to help teachers lead the most important course their students will ever take.

Mail Icon

Subscribe to the blog

Get Question of the Day, FinCap Friday, and the latest updates from NGPF in your inbox by subscribing today: