The Kauffman Foundation released a new study entitled, "The Anatomy of an Entrepreneur: Family Background and Motivation." The purpose of the study is to delve into the backgrounds of some of America's successful entrepreneurs, to see what makes them tick, and if there are ways to spread their knowledge of what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur to the thousands of new businesses founded each year by intrepid entrepreneurs.

A few of the report's findings include:

• Company founders tend to be middle-aged and well-educated, and did better in high school than in college
• These entrepreneurs tend to come from middle-class or upper-class backgrounds, and were better educated and more entrepreneurial than their parents
• Most entrepreneurs are married and have children
• Most had early interest in becoming an entrepreneur
• The most popular motivations for becoming an entrepreneur included building wealth, owning a company, participating in the startup culture and capitalizing on a business idea
• Most entrepreneurs had significant industry experience when starting their companies

It is always fascinating to other entrepreneurs, or those like myself who study them and ways to make them more successful from the policy-oriented side of things, to see how the successful ones made it. A lot of the success can be traced directly to the space between an entrepreneur's ears -- the mindset it takes to overcome the long odds of starting and maintaining a successful business is key.

But providing an environment that is conducive to these entrepreneurs is important as well. Policymakers oftentimes need to be reminded that tax and regulatory policies have real-world implications and can provide unnecessary burdens to entry for entrepreneurs. And in this day and age, we should make sure the barriers to entrepreneurship are as low as possible.

Come learn more about what makes entrepreneurs tick and make your own suggestions on how Washington could be a better place for small businesses at WPC's 2009 Statewide Small Business Conference on November 10th in SeaTac.