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I'd expect that the people the article talks about did have other options since they were "high earners". > we confirm labor shocks disproportionately impact h

I'd expect that the people the article talks about did have other options since they were "high earners". > we confirm labor shocks disproportionately impact high-earners and these same workers start more successful firms

dumbfoundded 5y ago
I think the term "forced" implies to me that the other options were worse at least. High earners can become low earners very quickly like real estate agents in 2008. These people have a larger bank roll and wider network then suddenly find themselves without a way to sustain their existing lifestyle. Similarly, the dot com bust gave many previously high paid programmers a lot of free time and few options to maintain their income.
awb 5y ago
I was a reasonably paid developer / manager in 2008 and couldn’t find a job as hiring was frozen. Unemployment wasn’t going to cover the mortgage so I was in a sense forced into entrepreneurship despite being a previously attractive hire for multiple companies. I had to work 2x as hard to make the same salary on my own the first year, but after that the rewards became easier as the company grew. I doubt I would have had the courage or interest in leaving a comfortable salaried position for entrepreneurship if I wasn’t forced into it. Turned out to be a life changing lay off for me though in a good way.
- sombremesa 5y ago
  The issue is that GP points to this as a significant factor: > "Forced entrepreneurs" risk great personal consequences because they have no other options. This is just ground reality for many entrepreneurs (immigrant families opening new restaurants, for example) and does not serve as much of a differentiating factor. Based on the study in the OP, the differentiating factor is more likely to be some difference in risk tolerance by way of savings (since these were high earners after all), some difference in skill (since these were high earners after all), or some difference in opinion of self (since these were high earners after all) which kept them from giving up and just taking a minimum wage unskilled labor gig somewhere. It's not interesting that people turned to entrepreneurship after being laid off. It's interesting that people who were laid off from cushier jobs were able to start businesses more successfully.

dumbfoundded 5y ago

I think the term "forced" implies to me that the other options were worse at least. High earners can become low earners very quickly like real estate agents in 2008. These people have a larger bank roll and wider network then suddenly find themselves without a way to sustain their existing lifestyle. Similarly, the dot com bust gave many previously high paid programmers a lot of free time and few options to maintain their income.

awb 5y ago

I was a reasonably paid developer / manager in 2008 and couldn’t find a job as hiring was frozen. Unemployment wasn’t going to cover the mortgage so I was in a sense forced into entrepreneurship despite being a previously attractive hire for multiple companies. I had to work 2x as hard to make the same salary on my own the first year, but after that the rewards became easier as the company grew. I doubt I would have had the courage or interest in leaving a comfortable salaried position for entrepreneurship if I wasn’t forced into it. Turned out to be a life changing lay off for me though in a good way.

sombremesa 5y ago
The issue is that GP points to this as a significant factor: > "Forced entrepreneurs" risk great personal consequences because they have no other options. This is just ground reality for many entrepreneurs (immigrant families opening new restaurants, for example) and does not serve as much of a differentiating factor. Based on the study in the OP, the differentiating factor is more likely to be some difference in risk tolerance by way of savings (since these were high earners after all), some difference in skill (since these were high earners after all), or some difference in opinion of self (since these were high earners after all) which kept them from giving up and just taking a minimum wage unskilled labor gig somewhere. It's not interesting that people turned to entrepreneurship after being laid off. It's interesting that people who were laid off from cushier jobs were able to start businesses more successfully.