Courses and Education Throughout the survey we conducted there was an array of questions regarding the courses and overall education that past graduates received. With these questions we are able to easily identify courses in which these students found useful or not useful, what helped them in their careers thus far and finally what their education lacked. The questions from the survey that most related to this objection of courses and education would be questions 7, 29, 22, 30-1, 30-3, 30-4, 30-6. Combined these questions help to make up a solid category of courses and education to help further explain past graduates experiences. Question 7 asks the respondent to choose three of the twelve areas of education in the Barton School of Business that they feel has the most useful or relevant in their careers. Based on this information we can gather what relevant areas seem to be the most useful based on the highest frequency count of selections. The following is a list of percentage
Transcript
Courses and Education
Throughout the survey we conducted there was an array of questions regarding the courses and overall education that past graduates received. With these questions we are able to easily identify courses in which these students found useful or not useful, what helped them in their careers thus far and finally what their education lacked. The questions from the survey that most related to this objection of courses and education would be questions 7, 29, 22, 30-1, 30-3, 30-4, 30-6. Combined these questions help to make up a solid category of courses and education to help further explain past graduates experiences.
Question 7 asks the respondent to choose three of the twelve areas of education in the Barton School of Business that they feel has the most useful or relevant in their careers. Based on this information we can gather what relevant areas seem to be the most useful based on the highest frequency count of selections. The following is a list of percentage
Accountin
g
Busines
s Adm
inist
ratio
n
Econom
ics
Entrepre
neurs
hip
Finan
ce
Human
Resourc
e Man
agem
ent
Internati
onal Busin
ess
Manag
emen
t
Operatio
ns Man
agem
ent
Manag
emen
t Info
rmati
on Syste
m
Marketi
ng
Real E
state
0
5
10
15
20
25
Question 7 - Frequency Comparison
Based upon these counts the respondents answers determine that Management, Business Administration, and Finance are the top three most useful or relevant courses that they took.
Q7_1 What three areas of your education in the Barton School of Business have been MOST useful or relevant...-Accounting
Frequency
Percent Valid Percent
Cumulative Percent
Validchecked
100 31.6 100.0 100.0
Missing System 216 68.4
Total 316 100.0
Q7_2 What three areas of your education in the Barton School of Business have been MOST useful or relevant...-Business Administration
Frequency
Percent Valid Percent
Cumulative Percent
Validchecked
127 40.2 100.0 100.0
Missing System 189 59.8
Total 316 100.0
Q7-3 What three areas of your education in the Barton School of Business have been MOST useful or relevant...-Economics
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent
Valid checked 57 18.0 100.0 100.0
Missing System 259 82.0
Total 316 100.0
Q7_4 What three areas of your education in the Barton School of Business have been MOST useful or relevant...-Entrepreneurship
Frequency
Percent Valid Percent
Cumulative Percent
Validchecked
60 19.0 100.0 100.0
Missing System 256 81.0
Total 316 100.0
Q7-5 What three areas of your education in the Barton School of Business have been MOST useful or relevant...-Finance
Frequency
Percent Valid Percent
Cumulative Percent
Validchecked
115 36.4 100.0 100.0
Missing System 201 63.6
Total 316 100.0
Q7_6 What three areas of your education in the Barton School of Business have been MOST useful or relevant...-Human Resource Management
Frequency
Percent Valid Percent
Cumulative Percent
Validchecked
42 13.3 100.0 100.0
Missing System 274 86.7
Total 316 100.0
Q7_7 What three areas of your education in the Barton School of Business have been MOST useful or relevant...-International Business
Frequency
Percent Valid Percent
Cumulative Percent
Validchecked
25 7.9 100.0 100.0
Missing System 291 92.1
Total 316 100.0
Q7_8 What three areas of your education in the Barton School of Business have been MOST useful or relevant...-Management
Frequency
Percent Valid Percent
Cumulative Percent
Validchecked
157 49.7 100.0 100.0
Missing System 159 50.3
Total 316 100.0
Q7_9 What three areas of your education in the Barton School of Business have been MOST useful or relevant...-Operations Management
Frequency
Percent Valid Percent
Cumulative Percent
Validchecked
42 13.3 100.0 100.0
Missing System 274 86.7
Total 316 100.0
Q7_10 What three areas of your education in the Barton School of Business have been MOST useful or relevant...-Management Information Systems
Frequency
Percent Valid Percent
Cumulative Percent
Validchecked
33 10.4 100.0 100.0
Missing System 283 89.6
Total 316 100.0
Q7_11 What three areas of your education in the Barton School of Business have been MOST useful or relevant...-Marketing
Frequency
Percent Valid Percent
Cumulative Percent
Validchecked
85 26.9 100.0 100.0
Missing System 231 73.1
Total 316 100.0
Q7_12 What three areas of your education in the Barton School of Business have been MOST useful or relevant...-Real Estate
Frequency
Percent Valid Percent
Cumulative Percent
Validchecked
20 6.3 100.0 100.0
Missing System 296 93.7
Total 316 100.0
The next question that is relevant to the first objective is the three areas of education that respondents who have started their own business found the most useful or relevant in preparation to starting their first business. They may have found these reasons more helpful based on what type of business they had started. Regardless the responses that were given demonstrates the top three most useful or relevant courses in preparation to starting a business are Accounting, Management and Finance, respectively.
Accountin
g
Busines
s Adm
inist
ratio
n
Econom
ics
Entrepre
neurs
hip
Finan
ce
Human
Resourc
e Man
agem
ent
Internati
onal Busin
ess
Manag
emen
t
Operatio
ns Man
agem
ent
Manag
emen
t Info
rmati
on Syste
m
Marketi
ng
Real E
state
Other
0
5
10
15
20
25
Question 22- Frequency Comparison
Q22_1 What three areas of your education in the Barton School of Business have been MOST useful or relevant...-Accounting
Frequency
Percent Valid Percent
Cumulative Percent
Validchecked
20 6.3 100.0 100.0
Missing System 296 93.7
Q22_2 What three areas of your education in the Barton School of Business have been MOST useful or relevant...-Business Administration
Validchecked
Missing System
Total
Total
316 100.0
Q22_3 What three areas of your education in the Barton School of Business have been MOST useful or relevant...-Economics
Frequency
Percent Valid Percent
Cumulative Percent
Validchecked
4 1.3 100.0 100.0
Missing System 312 98.7
Total 316 100.0
Q22_4 What three areas of your education in the Barton School of Business have been MOST useful or relevant...-Entrepreneurship
Frequency
Percent Valid Percent
Cumulative Percent
Validchecked
13 4.1 100.0 100.0
Missing System 303 95.9
Total 316 100.0
Q22_5 What three areas of your education in the Barton School of Business have been MOST useful or relevant...-Finance
Frequency
Percent Valid Percent
Cumulative Percent
Validchecked
15 4.7 100.0 100.0
Missing System 301 95.3
Total 316 100.0
Q22_6 What three areas of your education in the Barton School of Business have been MOST useful or relevant...-Human Resource Management
Frequency
Percent
Missing System 316 100.0
Q22_7 What three areas of your education in the Barton School of Business have been MOST useful or relevant...-International Business
Frequency
Percent Valid Percent
Cumulative Percent
Validchecked
3 .9 100.0 100.0
Missing System 313 99.1
Total 316 100.0
Q22_8 What three areas of your education in the Barton School of Business have been MOST useful or relevant...-Management
Frequency
Percent Valid Percent
Cumulative Percent
Validchecked
16 5.1 100.0 100.0
Missing System 300 94.9
Q22_9 What three areas of your education in the Barton School of Business have been MOST useful or relevant...-Operations Management
Validchecked
Missing System
Total
Total
316 100.0
Q22_10 What three areas of your education in the Barton School of Business have been MOST useful or relevant...-Management Information Systems
Frequency
Percent Valid Percent
Cumulative Percent
Validchecked
1 .3 100.0 100.0
Missing System 315 99.7
Total 316 100.0
Q22_11 What three areas of your education in the Barton School of Business have been MOST useful or relevant...-Marketing
Frequency
Percent Valid Percent
Cumulative Percent
Validchecked
9 2.8 100.0 100.0
Missing System 307 97.2
Total 316 100.0
Q22_12 What three areas of your education in the Barton School of Business have been MOST useful or relevant...-Real Estate
Frequency
Percent Valid Percent
Cumulative Percent
Validchecked
3 .9 100.0 100.0
Missing System 313 99.1
Total 316 100.0
Q22_13 What three areas of your education in the Barton School of Business have been MOST useful or relevant...-Other
Frequency
Percent Valid Percent
Cumulative Percent
Validchecked
2 .6 100.0 100.0
Missing System 314 99.4
Total 316 100.0
Survey respondents were all asked to rate the importance of entrepreneurship topics as to how beneficial each has been to their career. These topics were all key concepts taught within different entrepreneurship courses. These responses can help the Entrepreneurship department to get a better understanding of the topics that past graduates have found the most beneficial and can adapt their courses accordingly. Below are the reponses:
Q29_1 Please rate the importance of the following entrepreneurship topics as to how beneficial each has been to your career...-Product development
Frequency
Percent Valid Percent
Cumulative Percent
Valid
1 - Very Important 50 15.8 21.2 21.2
2 39 12.3 16.5 37.7
3 48 15.2 20.3 58.1
4 41 13.0 17.4 75.4
5 - Not at all Important
58 18.4 24.6 100.0
Total 236 74.7 100.0
Missing
Don't Know 18 5.7
System 62 19.6
Total 80 25.3
Total 316 100.0
Q29_2 Please rate the importance of the following entrepreneurship topics as to how beneficial each has been to your career...-Feasibility analysis
Frequency
Percent Valid Percent
Cumulative Percent
Valid
1 - Very Important 69 21.8 29.7 29.7
2 60 19.0 25.9 55.6
3 46 14.6 19.8 75.4
4 24 7.6 10.3 85.8
5 - Not at all Important
33 10.4 14.2 100.0
Total 232 73.4 100.0
Missing
Don't Know 22 7.0
System 62 19.6
Total 84 26.6
Total 316 100.0
Q29_3 Please rate the importance of the following entrepreneurship topics as to how beneficial each has been to your career...-Writing a businss plan
Frequency
Percent Valid Percent
Cumulative Percent
Valid 1 - Very Important 67 21.2 27.9 27.9
2 49 15.5 20.4 48.3
3 53 16.8 22.1 70.4
4 26 8.2 10.8 81.3
5 - Not at all Important
45 14.2 18.8 100.0
Total 240 75.9 100.0
Missing
Don't Know 14 4.4
System 62 19.6
Total 76 24.1
Total 316 100.0
Q29-4 Please rate the importance of the following entrepreneurship topics as to how beneficial each has been to your career...-Funding/financing a business
Frequency
Percent Valid Percent
Cumulative Percent
Valid
1 - Very Important 79 25.0 33.3 33.3
2 48 15.2 20.3 53.6
3 40 12.7 16.9 70.5
4 21 6.6 8.9 79.3
5 - Not at all Important
49 15.5 20.7 100.0
Total 237 75.0 100.0
Missing
Don't Know 17 5.4
System 62 19.6
Total 79 25.0
Total 316 100.0
Q29_5 Please rate the importance of the following entrepreneurship topics as to how beneficial each has been to your career...-Marketing
Frequency
Percent Valid Percent
Cumulative Percent
Valid
1 - Very Important 85 26.9 35.0 35.0
2 73 23.1 30.0 65.0
3 43 13.6 17.7 82.7
4 18 5.7 7.4 90.1
5 - Not at all Important
24 7.6 9.9 100.0
Total 243 76.9 100.0
Missing
Don't Know 11 3.5
System 62 19.6
Total 73 23.1
Total 316 100.0
Q29_6 Please rate the importance of the following entrepreneurship topics as to how beneficial each has been to your career...-legal aspects of business
Frequency
Percent Valid Percent
Cumulative Percent
Valid 1 - Very Important 81 25.6 33.9 33.9
2 56 17.7 23.4 57.3
3 54 17.1 22.6 79.9
4 25 7.9 10.5 90.4
5 - Not at all Important
23 7.3 9.6 100.0
Total 239 75.6 100.0
Missing
Don't Know 15 4.7
System 62 19.6
Total 77 24.4
Total 316 100.0
Q29_7 Please rate the importance of the following entrepreneurship topics as to how beneficial each has been to your career...-Franchising
Frequency
Percent Valid Percent
Cumulative Percent
Valid
1 - Very Important 11 3.5 4.8 4.8
2 16 5.1 7.0 11.7
3 43 13.6 18.7 30.4
4 49 15.5 21.3 51.7
5 - Not at all Important
111 35.1 48.3 100.0
Total 230 72.8 100.0
MissingDon't Know 24 7.6
System 62 19.6
Total 86 27.2
Total 316 100.0
Q29_8 Please rate the importance of the following entrepreneurship topics as to how beneficial each has been to your career...-Selling
Frequency
Percent Valid Percent
Cumulative Percent
Valid
1 - Very Important 71 22.5 30.1 30.1
2 59 18.7 25.0 55.1
3 37 11.7 15.7 70.8
4 32 10.1 13.6 84.3
5 - Not at all Important
37 11.7 15.7 100.0
Total 236 74.7 100.0
Missing
Don't Know 18 5.7
System 62 19.6
Total 80 25.3
Total 316 100.0
Q29_9 Please rate the importance of the following entrepreneurship topics as to how beneficial each has been to your career...-Growing/managing a business
Frequency
Percent Valid Percent
Cumulative Percent
Valid
1 - Very Important 93 29.4 38.8 38.8
2 66 20.9 27.5 66.3
3 34 10.8 14.2 80.4
4 20 6.3 8.3 88.8
5 - Not at all Important
27 8.5 11.3 100.0
Total 240 75.9 100.0
Missing
Don't Know 14 4.4
System 62 19.6
Total 76 24.1
Total 316 100.0
Q29_10 Please rate the importance of the following entrepreneurship topics as to how beneficial each has been to your career...-Strategic planning
Frequency
Percent Valid Percent
Cumulative Percent
Valid
1 - Very Important 115 36.4 47.1 47.1
2 79 25.0 32.4 79.5
3 24 7.6 9.8 89.3
4 8 2.5 3.3 92.6
5 - Not at all Important
18 5.7 7.4 100.0
Total 244 77.2 100.0
Missing
Don't Know 10 3.2
System 62 19.6
Total 72 22.8
Total 316 100.0
Q29-11 Please rate the importance of the following entrepreneurship topics as to how beneficial each has been to your career...-Operations management
Frequency
Percent Valid Percent
Cumulative Percent
Valid
1 - Very Important 77 24.4 32.0 32.0
2 79 25.0 32.8 64.7
3 50 15.8 20.7 85.5
4 12 3.8 5.0 90.5
5 - Not at all Important
23 7.3 9.5 100.0
Total 241 76.3 100.0
Missing
Don't Know 13 4.1
System 62 19.6
Total 75 23.7
Total 316 100.0
Question 30 asked respondents to rate the following statements in levels of agreement with “1” being strongly agree to “5” being strongly disagree. Through these ratings the Center for Entrepreneurship and the Barton School of Business can easily determine areas past graduates feel strongly in. Questions 30_1 asked the respondents to rate “My degree from the Barton School adequately prepared me to start a business.” Only 10 percent of respondents strong agreed with this statement while 6 percent disagreed.
Q30_1 How would you rate the following?-My degree from the Barton School adequately prepared me to start a business.
Frequency
Percent Valid Percent
Cumulative Percent
Valid 1 - Strongly Agree 33 10.4 14.9 14.9
2 71 22.5 32.1 47.1
3 76 24.1 34.4 81.4
4 21 6.6 9.5 91.0
5 - Strongly Disagree
20 6.3 9.0 100.0
Total 221 69.9 100.0
Missing
No Opinion 33 10.4
System 62 19.6
Total 95 30.1
Total 316 100.0
Question 30_3 asked respondents to rate “Taking one or more entrepreneurship courses as a student is beneficial to being a successful business professional. The majority of this questions respondents strongly agreed with this statement.
Q30_3 How would you rate the following?-Taking one or more entrepreneurship courses as a student is beneficial to being a successful business professional.
Frequency
Percent Valid Percent
Cumulative Percent
Valid
1 - Strongly Agree 87 27.5 38.2 38.2
2 66 20.9 28.9 67.1
3 46 14.6 20.2 87.3
4 15 4.7 6.6 93.9
5 - Strongly Disagree
14 4.4 6.1 100.0
Total 228 72.2 100.0
Missing No Opinion 26 8.2
System 62 19.6
Total 88 27.8
Total 316 100.0
Question 30_4 asked respondents to rate “The entrepreneurship courses I took at WSU sparked my interest in starting a business.” These rating were widespread across the five options, therefore making it somewhat difficult to draw a conclusion about what the majority of question respondents thought.
Q30_4 How would you rate the following?-The entrepreneurship courses I took at WSU sparked my interest in starting a business.
Frequency
Percent Valid Percent
Cumulative Percent
Valid
1 - Strongly Agree 56 17.7 26.7 26.7
2 26 8.2 12.4 39.0
3 50 15.8 23.8 62.9
4 41 13.0 19.5 82.4
5 - Strongly Disagree
37 11.7 17.6 100.0
Total 210 66.5 100.0
Missing
No Opinion 44 13.9
System 62 19.6
Total 106 33.5
Total 316 100.0
Q30-6 How would you rate the following?-Entrepreneurial education has benefitted me both personally and professionally.
Frequency
Percent Valid Percent
Cumulative Percent
Valid
1 - Strongly Agree 53 16.8 25.0 25.0
2 52 16.5 24.5 49.5
3 56 17.7 26.4 75.9
4 28 8.9 13.2 89.2
5 - Strongly Disagree
23 7.3 10.8 100.0
Total 212 67.1 100.0
Missing
No Opinion 42 13.3
System 62 19.6
Total 104 32.9
Total 316 100.0
Another major component of the education that Wichita State University and the Barton School of Business offers is the Cooperative education program where students can work for course credit and gain experience. Many students throughout campus have taken advantage of this opportunity to build their resume and to earn a paycheck. In addition, internships, usually unpaid, are an option that some students choose to participate in as well. Question 10 asked respondents “Did you participate in cooperative education or an internship while enrolled at WSU?” More students responded with a “No” at 60% while 32% said yes. Question 11 asked respondents “Did participating in cooperative education or an internship influence you in starting your own business. Only 101 respondents answered, six stating “Yes” while 95 stated “No”.
Q10 Did you participate in cooperative education or an internship while enrolled at WSU?
Frequency
Percent Valid Percent
Cumulative Percent
Valid
Yes 101 32.0 34.6 34.6
No 191 60.4 65.4 100.0
Total 292 92.4 100.0
MissingSystem
24 7.6
Total 316 100.0
Q11 Did this participation in cooperative education or an internship influence you in starting your own...
Frequency
Percent Valid Percent
Cumulative Percent
Valid
Yes 6 1.9 5.9 5.9
No 95 30.1 94.1 100.0
Total 101 32.0 100.0
MissingSystem
215 68.0
Total 316 100.0
Creating a business
Question 24: Have you ever considered starting a for-profit business since completing your degree from the Barton School?
Out of 254 valid responses to this question, 58% answered yes while 42% of the participants answered no. This suggests that the majority of students’ interest in their area of study have been stimulated since taking courses from the Barton School. The students that answered no went ahead to question 26.
Question 25(part 1): What is the likelihood of you starting a for-profit business within the next year?
Ranking from one to five with one being very likely to five being not at all likely, over half of the participants ranked their likelihood at a 5. The valid percentage is 61.4 and this was out of 132 students that participated in the survey. Number 4 came in second with 22% being second to not at all likely of starting a for-profit business within the next year. There are many implications we can consider when analyzing these results. Though there are a high percentage of students not at all likely to start up a for-profit business, that does not necessarily mean that they don’t want to. Students may not have financial resources, for example or may simply not have the time to start a new risky venture. This also may be the reasons as to why they are not at all likely to pursue this task. No matter what the reason might be, though these results tell us that the majority of students are not going to start up a for-profit business within the next year.
Question 25 (part2): What is the likelihood of you starting a for-profit business within the next two years?
With the same procedure from part one, the results of this question came out a little more distributed. Students still ranked 5 as their main choice, but it was only 36% that answered this as their likelihood. There were still 132 students that participated in this part of the question and there were still less than 5% of students saying that they are very likely to start up a for-profit business. The numbers 3 and 4 were very close in percentages, however with 23% of students ranking this question as a 3, and 21% going with the number 4 rank. 16% of students ranked 2nd to very likely to start up a for-profit business. It is interesting to see how an extra year makes a difference of the percentages of likelihood increasing. These percentages imply that the more time that is given, the more likely students are in starting a business. Knowing this information can help the Barton School prepare students better in planning since the results imply that
time is crucial in being successful in starting a for-profit business. Regardless of the inferences, however the results still show that most students are still not at all likely to start a business within the next two years.
Question 26: What challenges and/or difficulties do you perceive in starting a business?
Please check all that apply for you:
1. I do not see any challenges: 1%2. I don’t know how/ Not enough expertise: 17% 3. Not enough time: 23%4. I have family responsibilities: 22%5. Do not want to take the risk/ Afraid to fail: 30%6. Comfortable with my current job: 34%7. No access to capital/ Lack of resources: 38%8. I have no business ideas worth pursuing: 22%9. Starting a business does not interest me: 13%
Out of 316 students, 38% of them personally believe lacking access to capital and/or lacking resources is what makes pursing a business challenging. Knowing this information can help the Baron School prepare students when their future finances so they don’t feel as intimidated when the money comes into play. The Barton School can also help prepare students with the knowledge of what resources they have available to them so they aren’t limited when wanting to pursue a business. The second largest response regarding percentages is that students are already comfortable with their current jobs and do not see a need to pursue a business.
Owning A Business
To get a better positioning on the respondents from the survey, we wanted to know more about the first business and why they were no longer involved in the business if that were the case. To do this we looked at the data from questions Q17, Q20, Q21, and Q22 which gave them the option of including a statement which would explain their obstacles that were faced during the span of their first business. We as entrepreneurs sometimes learn best from our mistakes. Having the first business being successful and still in business is a great success, but is always great to know what obstacles may come our way so that we can be well prepared as to be knowledgeable in overcoming them.
We asked questions that required a "Yes" or "No" answer, the directness gave us the response need to determine where to send them next that would allow us to partake further into their history with their business. Other questions had a drop-down box with selections of different industries that their business may have a part of. Some of the questions gave the option for them to leave a statement that would best answer the questions, since there could be no definite way of providing a selection of answers that may define their personal experiences with their business.
Q17 How long have or did you own your first business? __xx__years
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent
0 1 0.3 2.9 2.9
1 12 3.8 35.3 38.2
2 6 1.9 17.6 55.9
3 8 2.5 23.5 79.4
4 (valid) 1 0.3 2.9 82.4
7 1 0.3 2.9 85.3
8 4 1.3 11.8 97.1
9 1 3 2.9 100.0
Total 34 10.8 100.0
Missing System
Total
282
316
89.2
100.0
From asking Q17 we can see if the participants in the survey(alumni), used their knowledge to pursue their own business. If they utilized their expertise for a career as an entrepreneur and if it was a career path that they stuck with or they went on to follow other endeavors. It is known that with any degree that a student completes is not always the career path the individual embarks on. The use of the knowledge may be used though in a different career field to further their role in the business or industry they pursue.
What we were able to fin out in Q17 is that out of the 316 alumni that answered to the survey, 34 of the alumni from the School of Entrepreneurs actually attempted to opened their own businesses after the completion of their degree. That is 10.75% of those surveyed. The statistics showed that out of the 316 surveyed, 284 of the alumni did not answer Q17. That is 89.25% of the alumni that did not choose to open their own business as a graduating entrepreneur.
Now that we know the amount of alumni that actually opened up a business after teh completion of their entrepreneurial degree, we wanted to further investigate and determine out of the 34 individuals, or 10.75%, that answered yes to Q 17, we ask;
Q20 Are you still involved with the first business that you created?
Again we are able to get 34 respondents from the survey which shows us that the questions were easy to follow and were leading as intended. This again is a direct question that will give us a good perception for their answers. In this case out of the 34 alumni that answered whether or not they were still involved with their first business, we were able to determine the following;
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent
Yes (valid) 28 8.9 82.4 82.4
No 6 1.9 17.6 100.0
Total 34 10.8 100.0
Missing System
Total
282
316
89.2
100.0
As the table reads, out of the 34 alumni that answered "Yes" to Q17, Q28 of the 34 or 82.4% answered "Yes" to Q20, informing us that they were still involved with their first business. This is a good percentage, and notifies us that the alumni that are still involved in their first business are knowledgeable and successful in keeping their business operating.
There were six of the alumni that did answer "No" to Q20, signifying 17.6% of those that opened a business were no longer in operations with that business.
Of the 34 that answered Q17 and 20, we were able to direct them to the next question to find out a littler bit more of their business venture. Those who answered "Yes" to Q20 were directed to go to Q22, and for those who answered "No" were directed to Q21.
The one thing that could have been asked to further dwell into the question, would be to ask "How are you involved in your first business?" I believe that this would open up further questions to informing us what classes may have helped in their current positions with their first business. As you may have noticed form the bold lettering of "first business," we are wanting to only know the results of the first business the graduates embarked on. This cold have been a question that could have been asked to further dwell on the success of their degree that led them to partaking into another business venture and how they were able to learn from their first business.
After finding out how many of the alumni were still involved in their first business, we wanted to find out what the reason may have been for the six that answered "No." This was what they were asked;
Q21 Why are you not involved with your first business any longer?
1 The business was sold. / I was bought out.
2 The business failed to generate enough profit in order to continue operations.
3 The business no longer excited me.
4 I transitioned leadership to another individual.
5 Other___Q21_Text___(Go to Q22)
As this may be a hard question to sum up with just a few answers, we gave the option for those questioned to leave an answer in their own words. They did this simply by selecting the Text option or answer #5.
Frequency
Percent Valid Percent
Cumulative Percent
The Business failed to generate enough profit in order to continue operations.
3 0.9 50 50
The business no longer excited me. (valid)
1 0.3 16.7 16.7
Other 2 0.6 33.3 33.3
Total 6 1.9 100 100.0
Missing System 310 98.1
Total 316 100.0
The table only shows #2, #3, and #5, because those were the only ones that were selected from the six that answered Q21. Based on graph above, the main reason the individuals were no longer involved in their first business was because the business failed to generate a profit to continue operations any further. This was the answer for three of the individuals, or 50% of those who answered "No" to Q20. One entrepreneur informed us that they were no longer excited by the business that they had created. This is usually the reason why we as entrepreneurs embark on a business, we set out to challenge ourselves with the business because we are interested in what we can achieve and what revenue we can generate from the business. If the business no longer excites you, the likelihood of the business succeeding begins to fade. Two of the 6 answered "Other," which is explained in the graph below.
Q21 #5 Other___ Text___
Frequency
Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent
314 99.4 99.4 99.4
Moved to another state, new job does not
1 0.3 0.3 99.7
allow freelance work on the side. (valid)
The crash of 2008 stifled our growth.
1 0.3 0.3 100.0
Total 316 100.0 100.0
Of the two respondents from Q21 #5, the two reasons that were provided to us were;
Moved to another state, new job does not allow freelance work on the side.
The crash of 2008 stifled our growth.
This shows us that one of the respondents decided to pursue another career path other than the entrepreneurial business they had decided to open, to work for their self. This could indicate that their expertise was better used in another business that possibly generated more income for them rather than owning and operating their own business.
As many business failed do to the economic crash of 2008, so has that of our entrepreneur alumni. Thousands in the US lost their businesses and jobs due to the economic crash in 2008 that lead to the trillions of dollars in building a recovery and bank bailouts for our nation. We still today feel the aftermath of the crash in 2008.
In the survey, Q20 lead those who answered "Yes" to go to Q22, and those who answered Q21 continued on to answer Q22, staying on path in the survey. This question is asking what was helpful to those who opened their own business. This is helpful in understanding what other entrepreneurs students in the future may need to know more of, how professors can elaborate more on these areas of study so that the next generation of entrepreneurs could prepare themselves for future objectives.
Q22 What three areas of your education in the Barton School of Business have been MOST useful or relevant in preparing you to start your first business? (CHOOSE THREE)
Q22_1 Accounting
Q22_2 Business Administration
Q22_3 Economics
Q22_4 Entrepreneurship
Q22_5 Finance
Q22_6 Human Resource Management
Q22_7 International Management
Q22_8 Management
Q22_9 Operations Management
Q22_10 Management Information Systems(MIS)
Q22_11 Marketing
Q22_12 Real Estate
Q22_13 Other__Q22_13Text__(Go to Q23)
This question takes into account the 292 of the individuals who answered "Yes" to Q13 Have you started a for-profit business since graduating from the Barton School in which you were whole or partial owner?
Those who answered "No" were directed to Q24.
In this question we are able to see what topics were most useful to them in their entrepreneurial venture in their first business. The choices are that of the degrees offered in the Barton School of Business. This is useful to the Barton School so they can see where to focus more emphasis on to future students as to what may help them when pursuing an entrepreneurial career path, also to see what areas of the school may need more push for better educating students in the school.
Q22_1 What three areas of your education in the Barton School of Business have been MOST useful or relevant ...- Accounting
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent
Valid Checked 20 6.3 100.0 100.0
Missing System 296 93.7
Total 316 100.0
Q22_2 What three areas of your education in the Barton School of Business have been MOST useful or relevant ...- Business Administration
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent
Valid Checked 13 4.1 100.0 100.0
Missing System 303 95.9
Total 316 100.0
Q22_3 What three areas of your education in the Barton School of Business have been MOST useful or relevant ...- Economics
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent
Valid Checked 4 1.3 100.0 100.0
Missing System 312 98.7
Total 316 100.0
Q22_4 What three areas of your education in the Barton School of Business have been MOST useful or relevant ...- Entrepreneurship
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent
Valid Checked 13 4.1 100.0 100.0
Missing System 303 93.9
Total 316 100.0
Q22_5 What three areas of your education in the Barton School of Business have been MOST useful or relevant ...- Finance
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent
Valid Checked 15 4.7 100.0 100.0
Missing System 301 95.3
Total 316 100.0
Q22_6 What three areas of your education in the Barton School of Business have been MOST useful or relevant ...- Human Resource Management
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent
Valid Checked 0 0
Missing System 316 100.0
Total 316 100.0
Q22_7 What three areas of your education in the Barton School of Business have been MOST useful or relevant ...- International Business
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent
Valid Checked 3 0.9 100.0 100.0
Missing System 313 99.1
Total 316 100.0
Q22_8 What three areas of your education in the Barton School of Business have been MOST useful or relevant ...- Management
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent
Valid Checked 16 5.1 100.0 100.0
Missing System 300 94.9
Total 316 100.0
Q22_9 What three areas of your education in the Barton School of Business have been MOST useful or relevant ...- Operations Management
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent
Valid Checked 6 1.9 100.0 100.0
Missing System 310 98.1
Total 316 100.0
Q22_10 What three areas of your education in the Barton School of Business have been MOST useful or relevant ...- MIS
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent
Valid Checked 1 0.3 100.0 100.0
Missing System 315 99.7
Total 316 100.0
Q22_11 What three areas of your education in the Barton School of Business have been MOST useful or relevant ...- Marketing
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent
Valid Checked 9 2.8 100.0 100.0
Missing System 307 97.2
Total 316 100.0
Q22_12 What three areas of your education in the Barton School of Business have been MOST useful or relevant ...- Real Estate
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent
Valid Checked 3 0.9 100.0 100.0
Missing System 313 99.1
Total 316 100.0
Q22_13 What three areas of your education in the Barton School of Business have been MOST useful or relevant ...- Other__
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent
Valid Checked 2 0.6 100.0 100.0
Missing System 314 99.4
Total 316 100.0
Q22_13Text What three areas of your education in the Barton School of Business have been MOST useful or relevant ...- Other_Text
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent
314 99.4 100.0 99.4
Business Law 1 0.3 99.7
Insurance Risk Management
1 0.3 100.0
Total 316 100.0
Results from the tables indicated that the three areas of education that were most relevant and useful in starting their first business were; in order of highest picked:
Accounting (20 picks)
Management (16 picks)
Finance (15 picks)
Entrepreneurship/ Business Administration (13 picks)
Marketing(9 picks)
Operations Management (6 picks)
Economics (4 picks)
International Business/ Real Estate (3 picks)
Other/Text (2 picks)
Management Information Systems (1 pick)
Human Resource Management (0 picks)
One of the main objectives of the survey was to find and understand if the respondents had ever owned their own business. Multiple questions on the survey asked the number of respondents whether or not they had ever owned a business. Out of those questions they were directly asking how many businesses had the respondents started while attending the Barton School of Business, the age in which the they were when they started their own business after graduating and in what year was it when they started their own business after graduating from the Barton school of Business. With these questions being asked in the survey, it allows us to identify the approximate
number of respondents that have actually owned their own business since graduating from the Barton School.
Q13) Have you started a for-profit business since graduating from the Barton School in which you were whole or partial owner?
Having the ability to understand how many students who graduated from the Barton School and that have started a for-profit business is an important topic of the survey. Being informed on this question is important because it helps us identify if the Barton School should focus their curriculum more towards informing students on for-profit business strategies as opposed to just a general “owning your own business” strategy. This question aids in tying the survey together in the fact that in leads into further direct questioning about owning your own business.
The results below show that out of 316 respondents majority said that they have not started a for-profit business since graduating from the Barton School. Leaving only a small 11.4 percent saying that they did in fact start a for-profit business.
Frequency Percentage Valid Percent Cumulative Percent
Yes 36 11.4 12.3 12.3
Valid No 256 81.0 87.7 100.0
Total 292 92.4 100.0
Missing System
Total
24
316
7.6
100.0
Q14) How many businesses have you started since the completion of your degree from the Barton School at WSU?
Question 14 is important to this survey in a sense that it gives marketers an understanding of how many businesses students from the Barton School at WSU on average started since obtaining their degree. Having this question follow question 13 helps the respondents to be able to collectively make a mental list of what type of
business they started but also how many. In order for marketers to know how many businesses the recent graduates have had we need to know whether or not they were whole or partial owners of a business.
Frequency Percentage Valid Percent Cumulative Percent
0 1 .3 2.9 2.9
1 25 7.9 73.5 76.5
Valid 2 7 2.2 20.6 97.1
3 1 .3 2.9 100.0
Total 34 10.8 100.0
Missing Systems
Total
282
316
89.2
100.0
Q15) How old were you, in years, when you started your first business after graduating?
Question 15 correlates with question 16. Although they are two separate questions I believe it would have made more sense to word them together in the same question. For the reason that it would be one less question for the respondents to answer and for the simple fact that, years of age and in what year correlate. Plus it would save both the marketers and the surveyors time in creating and completing the survey. The tables below indicate that majority of the respondents that started their first business after graduating were the either the age 22 or 25. As for the year in which the majority of the respondents started their first business after graduating was this recent year, 2013.
Q15)
Frequency Percentage Valid Percent Cumulative
Percent
20 1 .3 2.9 2.9
21 1 .3 2.9 5.9
22 4 1.3 11.8 17.6
23 1 .3 2.9 20.6
24 3 .9 8.8 29.4
25 4 1.3 11.8 41.2
26 3 .9 8.8 50.0
27 1 .3 2.9 52.9
28 1 .3 2.9 55.9
Valid 29 3 .9 8.8 64.7
30 2 .6 5.9 70.6
31 1 .3 2.9 73.5
32 3 .9 8.8 82.4
33 1 .3 2.9 85.3
38 1 .3 2.9 88.2
39 1 .3 2.9 91.2
40 2 .6 5.9 97.1
46 1 .3 2.9 100.00
Total 34 10.8 100.0
Missing System
Total282
316
89.2
100.0
Q16) In what year did you start your first business after graduating from the Barton School?
Frequency Percentage Valid Percent Cumulative Percent
Vaild 0 1 .3 2.9 2.9
1 1 .3 2.9 5.9
5 1 .3 2.9 8.8
9 1 .3 2.9 11.8
22 1 .3 2.9 14.7
2003 1 .3 2.9 17.6
2005 2 .6 5.9 23.5
2006 1 .3 2.9 26.5
2007 4 1.3 11.8 38.2
2009 1 .3 2.9 41.2
2010 5 1.6 14.7 55.9
2011 2 .6 5.9 61.8
2012 6 1.9 17.6 79.4
2013 7 2.2 20.6 100.0
Total 34 10.8 100.0
Missing System
Total
282
316
89.2
100.0
Q19) In what industry did you start your first for-profit business after graduating?
For gathering information about when our respondents first started their business, knowing what type of industry they choose is rather vital when collecting data pertaining to the topic on hand. With the information we received from our respondents we can
clearly identify that the majority of our respondents chose other services. With having the most number of respondents choose this industry, we can also see it has the highest valid percent at 44.1 percent. This information tells the marketers that with the graduates from the Barton School the field that tends to be growing the most is in fact in other services.
Q19)
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent
Construction 2 .6 5.9 5.9
Manufacturing 1 .3 2.9 8.8
Wholesale Trade 2 .6 5.9 14.7
Retail Trade 2 .6 5.9 20.6
Transportation and Warehousing
1 .3 2.9 23.5
Information and Communication Services
2 .6 5.9 29.4
Finance, insurance, and Real Estate
4 1.3 11.8 41.2
Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services
2 .6 5.9 47.1
Health Care and Social Assistance
1 .3 2.9 50.0
Accommodation and Food Services
2 .6 5.9 55.9
Other Services 15 4.7 44.1 100.0
Total 34 10.8 100.0
Missing Systems
Total
282
316
89.2
100.0
Q25) What is the likelihood of you starting a for-profit business within the next year?
This question is a good indication for when marketers can expect a trend from students from the Barton School at WSU as to when they plan on starting a for-profit business. Having this information readily available and understanding the time frame is a great way for marketers to identify when to see a growth in for-profit businesses. I believe this question alone not only puts all the other questions about when the respondents plan on starting their own business, but it also gives us a rough estimate as to when we should be seeing an increase in for-profit businesses. The results of the tables below clearly state that within the next year 81 of the respondents said they do not plan on starting a for-profit business, which is a strong valid 61 percent. For the question asking what is the likelihood of you starting a for-profit business with the next two years can be identified as the same result, however the valid percentage of the respondents is almost half of that of the first question. If this trend stays consistent marketers can use this information and visualize that the respondents may not start a for-profit business in the first two years, but possibly shortly after.
Q25)
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent
1 –Very Likely 3 .9 2.3 2.3
2 5 1.6 3.8 6.1
3 14 4.4 10.6 16.7
Valid 4 29 9.2 22.0 38.6
5- Not at all Likely
81 25.6 61.4 100.0
Total 132 41.8 100.0
Missing System
Total
184 58.2
316 100.0
Q25_2) What is the likelihood of you starting a for-profit business within the next two years?
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent
