A Small Business

As many people can start or join a small business. Those who start them up however are characterized by unusual energy and the willingness to take risks. Typically, these entrepreneurs see an opportunity that has been overlooked by or that is too small to attract, a large business. A major construction firm, for example, may not want to take on small jobs, like renovating an old house or putting in a dormer their jobs to take advantage of them.

Many entrepreneurs seek independence. They have maverick streak in them that urges them to try to go their own way. They like the freedom of choosing their own work methods and setting their own work hours. Often, these small business operators find out that such independence is illusionary. They discover that instead of having knuckled under to a boss in a large corporation. They must accommodate the whims and demands of their customers. In general hours of employment for operators of small business tend to be very long; sixty-hour weeks are not unusual.

Four common fields attract

Certain kinds of industries attract small business because of their relatively low capital requirements and their ease of entry.

1. RETAILING: All that is required in the way of facilities is a rented store and some shelving merchandise may often be bought on credit location, however is critical. Renting for a good business location such as shopping mall, can run as high as $300 a month for a 20-by 30-foot store. Retailing can be intensely competitive. As a consequence, profit margin is very slim. Grocery retailing is a case in point.

Merchandising sense-the knack of knowing what to carry in stock and how to price it profitably-is particularly important in retailing in recent years, a sensitive to the needs of local consumers has helped small, independence supermarket operators to succeed in many instance where a supermarket giant has failed.

2. WHOLESALING: Despite the criticism from consumers that" middle man "or intermediaries occasionally attract, the United States economy would not survive without them. There always seems to be a place for the entrepreneur who's willing to assume the burden of helping to distribute someone else's products. The wholesaler does this by either 1.buying from a manufacturer and reselling to retailers or industrial users or 2. Acting in some way or another as a go -between. Wholesaling profit margin is almost always less than those in retailing. The profit a wholesaler makes depends greatly upon the value the manufacturer and the retailers, or industrial users, place on the services that is rendered. As a consequence, wholesalers often find themselves in a profit squeeze between the two.

3. SERVICES: