[View Point] Entrepreneurs: The engine that drives the U.S. economy

One of the key indicators routinely cited by the media to gauge the economic health of Americans is the Consumer Confidence Index (CCI). Nearly 45 years old, the CCI is the brainchild of The Conference Board, an independent business membership and research association that surveys 5,000 households every month to assess the public’s degree of economic optimism both now and in the future. The survey is conducted for The Conference Board by TNS, the world’s largest customer research firm.

While the Consumer Confidence Index is a valuable tool for predicting future economic activity in the United States, what we really need to be tracking is the economic health of entrepreneurs, the lifeblood of the U.S. economy. That’s because they are the individuals who ultimately will determine if we’re successful in bringing down the nation’s seemingly intractable unemployment rate, our most pressing economic problem.

Fortunately, entrepreneurs are generally an optimistic lot. That’s because pessimists either fail upon launching their own businesses (no surprise) or spend so much time worrying about what potentially could go wrong they never pull the trigger on opening the doors to a new venture. Even more significant, once they’re in business, entrepreneurs are all in, understanding that their livelihood is contingent upon making things happen, and when I say "things" I mean offering products or services that meet a market need and generate a profit.

Even with such a single-minded commitment to succeed, however, it hasn’t been easy for entrepreneurs the past few years given all the challenges they’ve faced in this economy, from increasingly frugal customers and limited access to capital to escalating health care costs and declining profit margins. Fortunately, true to their nature, entrepreneurs don’t require an enormous amount of good news to spur them into action. They simply need to see the light at the end of the tunnel, no matter how faint, which is what is currently happening as the U.S. gradually emerges from one of the worst economic downturns since the Great Depression.

Regardless if the Consumer Confidence Index rises or falls in the coming months, I’m optimistic our readers are going to make something happen in 2011 because that’s what successful entrepreneurs do. They adjust their business model to address ever-changing market conditions; they do whatever is necessary to meet and exceed their customers’ expectations; and they nurture the hopes and dreams of their staff, all while meeting payroll week-in and week-out. It’s why the pest control industry has been successful in the past and it’s why the pest control industry will be successful moving forward. Best wishes for continued success and good health to all of our readers in 2011.

One of the reasons we’re optimistic about the coming year is the opportunity to work with so many talented columnists including Cindy Mannes of Arrow Exterminators, Missy Henriksen of the National Pest Management Association and members of the Copesan Technical Committee, who contribute regularly to our Tech Talk column. The newest addition to this accomplished group of individuals is Greg Baumann, technical services director of Orkin Pest Control, Atlanta, Ga. The long-time vice president of technical services for the National Pest Management Association, Baumann is a former PMP himself, who also has extensive food processing experience as a corporate quality assurance auditor for The Hershey Company. We know our readers are going to benefit greatly from Baumann’s valuable market insights and extensive industry experience in his new quarterly column called "Pest Perspectives." Welcome aboard, Greg!

The author is publisher of PCT magazine. He can be reached at dmoreland@giemedia.com.