This edition of Useful Stats examines — by state and over the period from 2000 to 2018 — how many new establishments were founded, how many jobs these new establishments created, how many establishments closed, and how many jobs were lost from those closing establishments. In only one year, the last year of the period, 2018, all states experienced positive net gains in employment and establishments, based on data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. As shown in the interactive map below, the states that had the greatest number of new establishments in 2018 were California (63,073), Florida (31,063), Texas (28,079), Washington (20,525), and New York (13,967). The states that experienced the greatest net employment numbers in 2018 were California (177,061), Florida (117,746), Texas (115,624), Washington (45,394), and New York (44,045).

Image: https://ssti.org

By now, it’s clear to most that 1:1 meetings matter. The pro-tip of setting up a dedicated weekly checkpoint is on virtually every list of best practices for managers these days.

Carving out a corner on your calendar for surfacing issues, nurturing that incredibly important employee-manager relationship, and sharing feedback more consistently is undeniably important. For managers in particular, it’s a chance to maintain a pulse on how your direct reports are doing — and an opportunity to make sure their career ambitions for the years ahead connect back to their more immediate days and weeks.

Entrepreneurship isn’t for everyone.

It’s difficult, risky, and stressful; but if you’re successful, you’ll become the master of your destiny. These business founders and "Advisors" in The Oracles share how they made the leap from employee to entrepreneur — and how you can too. 

1. Start small.

When I had the idea for Canva, I was a student who didn’t even know what a startup was. I just had a problem that I wanted to solve — to make design simple for everyone — and a lot of determination. We started in a niche market to ensure our approach was possible and needed, and that we solved the problem well.

Image: https://www.usatoday.com

Gunjan Doshi, the chair of the state’s Commission on Science, Innovation and Technology, was thrilled when he heard the news. Included in the budget proposal Gov. Phil Murphy announced Tuesday was a substantial increase in funding for CSIT.

Murphy, who has pushed STEM and innovation since the campaign trail, is proposing to increase funding allocated to CSIT to $3 million, up from $1 million last year.

“Gov. Murphy has positioned CSIT as a hub of support for the state’s innovation sector, and his proposed budget confirms his continued commitment to a bustling innovation economy ripe with opportunity,” Doshi said. “We thank the governor for this proposed increase in funding, which will enable us to expand our efforts to promote the state as a home for academic and industry research, and as fertile ground for entrepreneurs and young companies seeking top talent.”

Image: Governor's Office/Edwin J. Torres Gov. Phil Murphy delivers his fiscal 2021 budget address.

When entrepreneurs start a business, their goal is for it to keep running forever. With that in mind, have you ever wondered about the oldest company in the world? A new and incredible infographic (with some great graphics) from Businessfinancing.co.UK thoroughly answers that question.

If you say the oldest company is 100, 200, 500, or even 1,000 years old, you would still be short by another 400+ years. The Kongo Gumi construction company in Japan has been in business since 578. That is 1,428 years! In 2006 it became a subsidiary of Takamatsu and became part of the new company it formed called Kongogumi Engineering.

Image: https://smallbiztrends.com

The gig economy is growing. For example, independent professionals are projected to make up 60% of the workforce by 2027. What’s more, 96% of self-employed professionals don’t want to return to a regular job. As a result, if you’re thinking about ditching your 9-to-5 grind to start your own business, this might be the right time for doing so.

MagnifyMoney has conducted a study compiling 25 occupations where you can be your own boss.

As a result, you can now choose from a number of top self-employed careers for your new business. For example, food service managers, construction managers and real estate agents.

Starting a business is an inherently risky endeavor, especially when headlines and statistics tout findings that around 20 percent of small businesses fail within the first year and 50 percent within five years. But those prospects can change dramatically based on where you headquarter your business. 

Whether they admit it or not, most people are a little uneasy about how emerging technology is changing work — and the world — as we know it. In one recent global PwC survey, more than half of the 22,000 respondents believe automation will significantly change their jobs, or make them obsolete, within the next 10 years. But that doesn’t mean they’re living in fear. In fact, 61 percent were excited or optimistic about the impact technology would have on their jobs.

The big question is: What exactly will the future look like? 

Coral reefs are dying.

Between 70% and 90% of all reef systems could disappear within the next two decades because of pollution and climate change, according to new research.

That projection, which researchers from the University of Hawaii Manoa presented at annual Ocean Sciences Meeting last week, suggests that by the end of the century, there could be few to no suitable sites for coral reefs anywhere in the world.

Image: The Ocean Agency/XL Catlin Seaview Survey/Richard Vevers and Christophe Bailhache

When Tim Ellis enrolled at USC in 2008, he majored in aerospace engineering but he secretly hoped to become a screenwriter. Instead, he ended up creating an entirely new way of building rocket ships. The two things have a deep connection. Storytelling and vision have influenced the unique ways that Ellis has attracted investors and built a groundbreaking company.

Image: Relativity's 3D printed rockets aim to solve resource constraints for space travel - RELATIVITY

On November 13, 2018, Amazon announced that its HQ2 project—contributing an estimated 25,000 high-paying jobs and $2.5 billion investment—to be located in the Crystal City area of Arlington, Va. The announcement by the e-commerce giant ended months of fierce competition, and was cause for celebration throughout the Northern Virginia and the DC metro area.

More importantly, the Amazon HQ2 success offers Northern Virginia leaders a chance to examine what went right, and how they can build upon this success to create future opportunities for the region.

As a fairly active angel investor, I get pitched by entrepreneurs eight to 10 times a month. The founders generally aren't looking to become the next Facebook or Zappos, but want to build a successful business that will allow them to achieve financial independence and make a mark in the world. Those happen to be the kind of startups I like. When I invest, I always insist on owning 51 percent of the stock until I've earned back my principal (whereupon I become a minority shareholder with a stake we negotiate up front). At that point, most people lose all interest in my investing, which is fine with me. If they don't have confidence that the business will be successful enough to pay me back and leave them in full control, why would I give them my money?

Once upon a time, humans were little more than monkeys. We had a smaller skull than we do now, and it primarily consisted of the limbic brain. That’s the deep, emotional, intuitive part of the brain—surrounded by a slim sliver of the outer cortex.

Over time, our digestive tract shrank as our outer cortex grew, becoming as dense as the limbic brain. The growth of this rational part of the brain brought about articulated speech and the ability to predict and plan for the future.

W2B has become a clearinghouse for regional commercialization, linking technologies to executive talent and other resources to advance the technologies beyond the research lab. As a part of the UMKC Innovation Center, W2B was started with a National Science Foundation Partnership for Innovation grant in September 2009. It has always been exciting to work with innovative university and hospital scientists and community entrepreneurs to advance their technologies for the benefit of the public. This past year, we have had the opportunity to work with new technologies that are not only innovative, but that also have an opportunity to address the social good.

The Economic Impact of International Students on the U.S. Economy

Every great startup investor must excel in two areas: assessing which industries are ripe for innovation and scouting out the companies that have the potential to make the biggest impact in achieving that innovation.

Amid shifting global markets, this requires investors to identify macro-level trends. As for many of the startups they invest in, artificial intelligence can provide a powerful advantage for VCs.

Birmingham’s innovation district has a new name and a bigger footprint.

Tuesday night during the Velocity Accelerator 2020 announcement at Innovation Depot, The Switch was unveiled as the city’s new epicenter of innovation. David Fleming, CEO of REV Birmingham, said The Switch brings partners across 14 Birmingham organizations together in harmony with Birmingham’s new City Center Master Plan.

Image: https://yellowhammernews.com

There are plenty of reasons professionals don’t network enough. We’re all busy. Some have stressful family obligations. Others are introverts who don’t take to the process naturally. Of course, you can find time-efficient ways to connect with others and learn new techniques that will make you more comfortable — if there’s sufficient will to change.

Speaking from experience, deciding to be an entrepreneur will change your life and is one of the best things you'll ever do. It involves turning your back on the status quo, walking away from social conventions, and not settling for less than you deserve. Becoming an entrepreneur often means you are following your passion.

SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 25, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The Silicon Valley Venture Capitalist Confidence Index™ for the fourth quarter of 2019 registered 3.60 on a 5-point scale (with 5 indicating high confidence and 1 indicating low confidence). The Q4 Index measurement, based on the responses of 30 Silicon Valley Venture Capitalists, was little changed from the previous quarter's index reading of 3.58, and also stayed below the nearly 16-year average of 3.70.

This is the 64th consecutive quarterly survey and research report (since Q1 2004), and provides unique quantitative and qualitative trend data and analysis on the confidence of Silicon Valley venture capitalists in the future high-growth entrepreneurial environment. Mark Cannice, professor of entrepreneurship and innovation with the University of San Francisco (USF) School of Management, authors the research study each quarter.