{lint_rd}==24

We would like to know whether you have ever owned a business. By business, we mean any activity operated with regularity for the purpose of generating income or profit. We are interested in all incorporated companies and partnerships in which you had any ownership share, as well as unincorporated businesses that you may have operated as a sole proprietor, independent contractor, consultant, or free-lancer. This even includes informal businesses such as cleaning services, gardening services, and the selling of goods out of your home, as long as they generated income and were operated on a regular basis. The only businesses we are not interested in are those operated on a highly sporadic basis, those carried out purely as a hobby, and those in which you were merely a shareholder or investor with no role in the operation of the company.

Since you were 18 years old, have you ever owned a business that would be of interest to us according to this description?

(INTERVIEWER: PLEASE SEE HELP SCREEN FOR FURTHER INFORMATION.)

{esbus_text1} How many such businesses have you owned?

REPEAT

COMMENT: BEGIN LOOPS TO UPDATE/VERIFY EMPLOYERS FROM DATE OF LAST INTERVIEW

{^busown_text1({busown-loop1})^} that you owned. What (is/was) the name of this business?

(INTERVIEWER: IF BUSINESS HAS A NAME, ENTER THAT NAME. OTHERWISE, ENTER SHORT DESCRIPTION OF JOB ACTIVITIES/OCCUPATION. THIS DESCRIPTION WILL BE USED AS THE NAME OF THIS JOB IN SUBSEQUENT QUESTIONS. SOME EXAMPLES INCLUDE: "FREELANCE WRITER", "CLEANING HOUSES", " CONSULTING DESIGNER", OR "LANDSCAPING AND YARD WORK".)

In what year was [busown_name([busown-loop1])] originally established?

In what month and year did you acquire an ownership share in [busown_name([busown-loop1])]?

How did you acquire ownership in [busown_name([busown-loop1])]? Did you establish the business either alone or with partners, receive ownership as a gift, purchase ownership, inherit ownership, acquire ownership through marriage, or was it something else?

What was your reason for establishing or acquiring this business?

Prior to establishing or acquiring this business, had you ever owned or worked for a related type of business?

What sources of money did you use to establish or acquire this business?

(INTERVIEWER: RESPONDENTS SHOULD REPORT ONLY THE SOURCES THAT THEY THEMSELVES PROVIDED, AND NOT SOURCES USED BY PREVIOUS OWNERS AND/OR CO-OWNERS.)

SELECT ALL THAT APPLY.
(INTERVIEWER: PLEASE SELECT ALL THAT APPLY.)

About how much money did you use to establish or acquire the business?

Did you use $50,000 or less?

Did you use $100,000 or less?

Did you use $250,000 or more?

Did you use $1,000,000 or more?

Did you use $25,000 or more?

Did you use $10,000 or more?

Did you use $5,000 or more?

What (is/was) the legal form of this business? (Is/Was) it a...

What type of business (is/was) [busown_name([busown-loop1])]? (IF NECESSARY, READ:) What (does/did) the company make or do?

At its largest, how many people worked for this business, including you? Please include part-time and temporary workers, and exclude outside contractors.

(INTERVIEWER: PROBE FOR APPROXIMATE NUMBER IF NECESSARY.)

At it's largest, did this business have one physical location, multiple physical locations or no specific physical location?

Approximately how much did this business generate in sales or revenue during a typical year?

(INTERVIEWER: IF R HAS DIFFICULTY WITH "TYPICAL" YEAR, ASK ABOUT REVENUE IN LAST CALENDAR YEAR OR THE LAST YEAR OF OWNERSHIP, AND ENTER A COMMENT.)

Do you still maintain an ownership share in this business?

In what year did your ownership end?

How did your ownership end? Did you sell the business, shut down the business or was it something else?

At the time you (left/shut down) this business, what was your ownership share?

What is your current ownership share?

(Is/Was) this business own(ed) exclusively by members of your family. (READ IF NECESSARY:) Please include spouses, domestic partners, parents or guardians, brothers, sisters of other close relatives.

UNTIL ([busown-loop1]==[busnum] || [busown-loop1] == 10 || [busnum] == 0)

COMMENT: END EMPLOYER LOOP WHEN ALL EMPLOYERS ACCOUNTED FOR

{busown-1} == 1 || {busnum} > 0 || {es-busnum} > 0

COMMENT: BEGIN LOOPS TO UPDATE/VERIFY EMPLOYERS FROM DATE OF LAST INTERVIEW

Prior to acquiring your (first) business, had any of your family members ever owned a business? (READ IF NECESSARY:) Please include spouses, domestic partners, parents or guardians, brothers, sisters of other close relatives.

Have any of your family members ever owned a business? (READ IF NECESSARY:) Please include spouses, domestic partners, parents or guardians, brothers, sisters of other close relatives.

Did you work for any of those family members prior to acquiring your (first) business? (READ IF NECESSARY:) Please include spouses, domestic partners, parents or guardians, brothers, sisters of other close relatives.

Did you work for any of those family members? (READ IF NECESSARY:) Please include spouses, domestic partners, parents or guardians, brothers, sisters of other close relatives.

Has anyone, including yourself, ever applied for a U.S. patent for work that you significantly contributed to?

{busown-1} == 1

COMMENT: BEGIN LOOPS TO UPDATE/VERIFY EMPLOYERS FROM DATE OF LAST INTERVIEW

Was any of the work leading to a patent application performed at or for a business that you owned?

How many U.S. patents have been obtained for work that you significantly contributed to?

(How many U.S. patents have been obtained for work that you significantly contributed to?)

Do you consider yourself to be an entrepreneur?

(INTERVIEWER: IF NECESSARY EXPLAIN THAT AN "ENTREPRENEUR" IS SOMEONE WHO LAUNCHES A BUSINESS ENTERPRISE, USUALLY WITH CONSIDERABLE INITIATIVE AND RISK.)