An examination of the burdens faced by entrepreneurs at start-up and five years later

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to consider the burdens faced by small business entrepreneurs in North Dakota. Design/methodology/approach – Two surveys of entrepreneurs are reported on, assessing burdens at start-up and five years later. Burdens are compared within each time period, across time periods, and are linked to industry type and business size. The study also compares survivors and non-survivors, and considers whether survivorship is linked to initial burdens. Findings – Regulatory factors and taxes were not as burdensome in the initial time period, compared to workforce and financing factors. In the follow-up survey property taxes were the largest burden, particularly among larger businesses. Among survivors, availability of capital was more burdensome at start-up and permitting and licensing complexity at follow-up. Survivors had more employees and rated permit/license complexity as more of a burden compared to non-survivors. Cross-industry burden differences were noted. Finally, businesses with more labor availability struggles at start-up were less likely to survive, and labor market burdens increased for businesses closer to the oil boom area. Research limitations/implications – Limitations mainly relate to the sample businesses, which are all from a single state. This potential issue is elaborated on in the manuscript. Originality/value – The contribution of this research primarily relates to the innovative design of using pre/post surveys to directly assess the opinions of entrepreneurs, allowing the study of burdens across time, survivorship, and industry effects.