Date
5-20-2026
Department
School of Behavioral Sciences
Degree
Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology (PhD)
Chair
Mike Ogburn
Keywords
entrepreneurship, social reintegration, justice-involved individuals, formerly incarcerated individuals, mixed-methods approach
Disciplines
Psychology
Recommended Citation
Garnes, Charlotte E., "Entrepreneurship After Incarceration: The Barriers and Success Factors For Startups Led By Individuals With A Conviction Record" (2026). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 8474.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/8474
Abstract
This mixed-methods study examined the barriers and facilitators influencing the success of businesses established by formerly incarcerated individuals through an online survey. It explored the roles of support and resilience in overcoming societal stigma and institutional constraints through survey questions (N = 119) and semi-structured interviews (N = 7). Quantitative analyses included binary logistic regression to evaluate relationships between region, industry, time in business, years since incarceration, and scale scores for support, motivation, and barriers with three outcomes: annual revenue, net profit or loss, and customer ratings. I also conducted a thematic analysis to understand the challenges, supports, and successes these justice-impacted entrepreneurs faced in their journeys. The quantitative findings suggested that those 4-10 years out from incarceration were more likely to have a higher income (OR = 4.43, p = 0.02) and higher customer ratings (OR = 4.43, p = 0.02). However, these findings were no longer significant in models that accounted for demographic factors. Women also had lower odds of high business revenue (OR = 0.14, p < 0.001) and net profit (OR = 0.44, p = 0.047) than men. Support, motivation, and barriers were unrelated to outcomes. Participants cited discrimination/trust (28.8%) and financial concerns (22.0%) as their most frequent barriers to successful entrepreneurship, and identified training/mindset (17.8%) and mentorship (16.1%) as most supportive in the qualitative analysis. These results suggest that gender and financial differences remain and that stigma and mentoring are important factors faced by justice-impacted entrepreneurs.
