Minor Business
Minor BusinessThe literature combines evidence of empirical and anecdotal origin as well as incorporating basic knowledge issues with which the successful entrepreneur must be familiar, including the importance of planning, setting goals, producing an accurate and useable business plan and finding funding for the new venture. Some entrepreneurs make millions; most do not. The entrepreneur can count on long hours, hard work and the satisfaction of achievement. Everyone wants to prosper, but those who need the stability and surety of a paycheck likely would be better off continuing to draw them.What does it take to be an entrepreneur? What are the characteristics of entrepreneurs? What skills are needed and how are they applied? Today’s business climate is more competitive than ever, and is a factor today’s entrepreneur has to closely consider as in no other period. Small business is responsible for more than two-thirds of the jobs in this country, and as the big corporations continue to streamline their operations and shift from a purely national to a global focus, the economic contribution of the entrepreneur is expected only to increase in coming years. There are nearly as many different types of entrepreneurs as there are ideas around which to form a business, but there are traits that are common among the most successful. Business has changed in recent years, too, as have options for funding. There is increased focus on electronic commerce and data transmission, and venture capital is a relatively new means of funding a business. But even with all the changes in how many aspects of business building is accomplished, the standards of focus, dedication and creativity remain. There are far more considerations to starting a business than simply giving into the desire to “be your own boss.” Rarely does an entrepreneur have no accountability to another person or business entity. The overriding considerations should be that the entrepreneur have the physical and technical ability to conduct his business and the characteristics that will allow him to persevere in building the business. In addition to essential character traits, the paper discusses how to identify opportunities and minimize risk, as well as implications of several methods of funding the business.There is disagreement over what percentages of new businesses fail in the first five years-estimates range between 40 and 80 percent. Even at the low range, the failure rate is high, and evaluation of failures shows common traits that have led to those failures. Failure has far less to do with market conditions or the capabilities of the entrepreneur than it does with inadequate planning and forecasting. Small business ‘experts’ as well as the SBA stress that planning and forecasting should be done before the doors open for the first day of business so that the entrepreneur knows what to expect and when to expect it, as well as plan for its arrival. Adequate planning cannot prevent business failure, but it certainly can prevent the failure of businesses that otherwise deserve to succeed.Rexall Sundown is the success story every entrepreneur would like to claim as their own. Begun in 1976 with one product in a spare room in the house, this company has grown into a major international corporation.There are many steps that must be taken to effectively create, plan and implement a new business plan, and the mistakes made by new business entrepreneurs often result in business failures within the first year of operation. There is really nothing any more remarkable in women entrepreneurs’ efforts than there are in the men counterparts’ work, at least not in the present. In the early years, women were at a distinct disadvantage if they intended to focus on any business that could be seen as untraditional. Since those first ground-breaking years, however, women-owned businesses are just businesses—sound management practices and tuned acumen truly is without gender.No longer is world enterprise under a patriarchal rule. Statistical figures from 1996 demonstrate the fact that women are no longer accepting of the meager corporate positions they have been forced to fill throughout the century. Now, coupled with the backing of a handful of powerful financial institutions, women are being fully supported in the world of global commerce. Indicative of the inherent female nature to do a job well, it is surmised that fifty percent of all small business owners will soon be represented by women.