Yahoo Looks At Why People Start A Small Business

Traditionally Yahoo! Small Business sees an uptick in people starting their own online business in the first quarter of the New Year. As 2011 kicks off, Yahoo! Small Business explores the New Year’s surge and the reasons and barriers to starting a new business.

A new survey, conducted by Yahoo! Small Business and Ipsos OTX MediaCT, reveals one in two have either dreamed of starting their own business or have actually started a business.

Key findings from the survey include:

*Twice as many small business owners than non-business owners say they are doing their dream job.

*79 percent say the best thing about owning their own business is a flexible work schedule.

*61 percent of non-business owners say they want to start a business so they can earn a living while fueling personal passions.

Evidence that Americans look to start the New Year by creating their own business can be found by looking at online search trends. In January 2011, Yahoo! Search saw a dramatic increase in searches on planning, funding and starting a business. Yahoo! Search data includes:

*Searches for “how to write a business plan” are up 746% on Yahoo!

*Searches for “starting a business” are up 451%

*Searches for “government small business loans” on Yahoo! are up 303% and “small business loans” up 145%

*Searches for “business ideas” are up 135%