# Startinga Business In a Recession-Are Your Chances Better or Worse?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/startinga-business-in-a-recession-are-your-chances-better-or-worse/640679>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [November 11, 2012, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/startinga-business-in-a-recession-are-your-chances-better-or-worse/640679 "2012-11-11T15:05:50Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\
**Post date:** [November 11, 2012, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/startinga-business-in-a-recession-are-your-chances-better-or-worse/640679/1 "2012-11-11T15:05:50Z")

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I was just watching a local news story, about a couple who just launched a new business-I wish them all the luck in the world.  
What I’m wondering-are your chances of success actually better in a recession? After all in a recession, people are scared-so entrepreneurs might hold back, waiting for better times. So, at least you have less competition. On the other hand, recessions are brutal to small/new businesses-the customer base shrinks, loans are hard to get, and people are scared to risk money.  
Are there any accurate statistics a bout this?