20-Year Prospect
Small businesses have been around forever – B&Bs operated in Japan in the eighth century and mom-and-pop glass makers were busy in Italy in 1295 – and we bet they'll still be springing up decades from now. Why?
Because being your own boss rocks the kasbah, that's why.
Of course, small business entrepreneurship isn't all glory and sunshine. If you own one of the 23 million small businesses in the United States, you have to figure out taxes and decipher the Afforable Care Act, hire and fire employees, and endure the nagging of your spouse, who still can't understand why you gave up that comfortable job with corporate to open a sports memorabilia shop.
And then there's the counterfeit cash.
That's right – in 2009, more than $182 million in funny money was taken out of circulation in the United States. Many of these fake bills ended up in cash registers at gas stations and restaurants, which totally sucked for the entrepreneurs who owned these small businesses.
Will all of these obstacles stop you from running your very own, personal dry-cleaning empire or coffee shop kingdom? We doubt it, because nothing you face as a small business owner will scare you as much as the prospect of dying by inches as a cubicle minion at someone else's company.