Starting a business despite the economy? Help is out there

(ARA) - Some enterprising individuals are finding the silver lining in the down economy. More than two out of five Americans have considered starting a business since the economic downturn, and about 24 percent of those have actually opened up their own business, according to a recent survey.

In addition to the number of people wanting to start businesses, 77 percent of Americans believe that businesses started by people in a poor market will do the most to revive the economy, according to an Alibaba.com survey.

But it isn't easy starting a business from scratch even in the best economic situation. You must consider where you want to locate your business, how many employees you'll need, where you will find your supplies and -- if you produce a product -- how you might get it out the door and into the hands of customers.

Edward Augustavo and a partner started Hard8 Beverage Company in 2008, and quickly ran into a problem finding a bottle manufacturer that could create the containers they needed at a price they could afford. The local companies in Seattle couldn't meet his need.

"I realized there had to be a better way to deal with manufacturers directly and started searching on the Internet," Augustavo says. "This led me to Alibaba.com, where I was able to source and have our company's core bottle for our energy shots manufactured at exactly the price in my original business model."

Alibaba.com helps new and existing business owners search through millions of suppliers and manufacturers from around the world for every imaginable good -- laptops to wedding dresses to onions (with or without the peel). The site also helps entrepreneurs produce prototypes quickly to get their ideas off the ground.

To help support new entrepreneurs, Alibaba.com is partnering with Inc. magazine on the Newpreneur of the Year contest, which will award a total of $100,000 to small business owners who see the recession as an opportunity to start a new venture.

"Americans strongly believe the down economy provides an opportunity for a new class of what we call 'Newpreneurs' -- people who are using the recession as a catalyst to start a business or develop an idea," says David Wei, CEO of Alibaba.com. "The renewed confidence in entrepreneurs is evident across the country and proves that the American dream is still alive and well."

Entries can be submitted at www.inc.com/alibaba until Aug. 14.

Courtesy of ARAcontent