Last week I was telling a chap I’d met about this blog, explaining that I write about business opportunities and ideas that interest me. He though it sounded great and promptly asked me for a list of small business ideas. Naturally I suggested he read the blog.
Since then however, I’ve been reading about organisation structure in The New Era of Management, the section on the Virtual Network approach to organisation structure along with the example of Strida* got me thinking. Here’s are the questions I’ve been pondering.
What is a small business?
The DTI (UK) defines a small business as having less that 250 employees and the SBA (USA) generally considers a business small if it has less than 500 employees (although they have quite a range of criteria available here) and European legislation defines a small business as having less than 50 employees. Ask someone on the street however and I suspect they’d talk about a corner shop, or a one man band business.
So how do I, as a small business consultant define a small business? To me a small business is a business (or subsidiary of a business) that has a small management team of between one and twenty people (I don’t count any other employees as I’ll be working with the management).
So is small business something to aim for, a goal if you like, or is it just a label for the current size of a business?
Why do you want to start a small business?
Do you want to start a small business, or just a business? What are you aiming to achieve by starting a business? What sort of business will satisfy that ambition? Why limit your thinking to a small business - after all Tesco started out as a market stall and didn’t open it’s first store until 10 years later and it’s first supermarket until 37 years later. Now it’s being accused of putting small businesses out of business .
Perhaps most people looking to start a small business are really looking for a lifestyle business that they can run from home. If you’re thinking about starting a small business I suggest you careful examine your motivation to decide what your real goal is and to see if you’re limiting yourself and your future business by thinking of it as a small business.
What is a small business idea?
As the term small business is itself hard to define it’s even harder to determine what a small business idea is. Is it an idea for a business that has little or no scope for growth, for example selling your services as a public speaker (there’s only one of you so the size of the business is limited). Or is it a business idea that is crippled by the entrepreneur thinking small, perhaps believing that selling a few cakes a day from the end of the drive is the bests you can do?
I suggest that you consider starting a business and don’t try to label it. Read my posts 10 Tactics For Finding New Business Ideas and 10 Tips For Finding Internet Business Ideas for some hints and tips on how to find business ideas, you’re free then to make the business as big or small as you like.
Notes:
*The author explains that Strida is a successful company selling thousands of bicycles worldwide with only two employees.
This blog is about business opportunities and ideas that I spot, think of or hear about and think are useful and interesting. It is intended to provide ideas and inspriation for you to help you find the right business idea for you to then grow it into a successful business.
I am a work from home mum 3 days a week selling HR software for an SME. I am an educated, self driven person who has always wanted to start my own business. I have loads of ideas but seem to be afraid to make the step. I am now pregnant with my second and having taken the step into homeworking I know that the move into starting my own business will not be long after my second child is born. My problem what idea to go with, I know I can make a business work I am just struggling with a business idea that I can be passionate about. Thank you for the writing every idea down tip and your article on mums business ideas. It has renewed my passion to search for that business idea and make it happen.
It was great to read and finds to be interesting.
Thanking you for the effort.
thanx for sharing this, i’ve got an idea how to start a small business however the problem is the capital so i need to work on this..
Dont worryi f you dont know what business you can run yet. As long as you have that passion to make money that deep urge like a splinter in the mind then you WILL make it just keep pressing forward and it just happens. Happy Hunting. “NEVER GIVE UP”
Good post!
Having ideas is one thing, I have a good friend who we call ‘the ideas man!’
However there is much more involved in actually running the business as you know.
However if someone has the desire and the IDEA then they will make a go of it in my experience.
Information is the crucial element when starting a business. Research and lots of it is the solution, and advice from someone already running a similar business is invaluable. Ideas are one thing, but actually doing something is where most people fall down, so dont procrastinate - when you find your idea - go and do it!
A good plan today is better than a perfect plan tomorrow!
Now I came to know a little about what is small business.But still not very clear about it.(I am not sure if it is same in India)
But thanks for giving this knowledge.