Every year, huge numbers of people entertain the idea of opening a small business and making a go at commercial success. Some succeed, and some fail; that’s the nature of capitalism.
However, the subject is riddled with myths and misinformation, some of which deter hardworking people from becoming entrepreneurs. That’s why it’s helpful to refute some of the most common myths and clear the air.
Only then can well-meaning people make informed decisions about whether to launch a company of their own.
Top 5 Myths About Small Businesses
1. Most Are One-Person Operations
Most smaller organizations employ between 3 and 15 people. Of course, there are many sole proprietorships, but that structure accounts for only a tiny percentage of the total. One reason that there are so few one-person businesses is that successful entrepreneurs who start out working alone soon discover the need for employees and assistants.
Eventually, many one-person entities either close their doors or expand. Plus, many sole proprietors do not work full-time. Instead, they run their small business as part-time pursuits to earn extra money in addition to a traditional day job.
2. Owners Are Too Busy to Finish College
If you’re an entrepreneur, working alone or as head of a team, finishing college is both affordable and practical. In fact, there are scholarships for college available for working adults who need to get a degree and finance it at the same time.
One of the quickest ways to connect with financial resources to complete a college degree or start one from scratch is to explore scholarship situations.
Luckily, there are major websites in which applicants can gain access to sophisticated search platforms. That way, if you’re a company owner who needs money for education, you can search and apply for hundreds of scholarship opportunities from the convenience of a single online location.
There’s a measurable advantage to this approach in that it saves a huge amount of time. Plus, when you use a search platform, it’s easy to identify only the scholarships for which you prequalify.
After dealing with the financial side of a degree, consider attending an online college or university that offers self-paced courses. Busy entrepreneurs can avoid overburdening themselves during seasonal work peaks and take more credit hours during slack months.
Not only is it possible to pay for schooling while working full-time, but as an owner, you can manage the scheduling challenge by taking online, open-ended courses from the school of your choice.
3. Expansion is Inevitable and Necessary
In the real world of small business, expansion usually is not the goal. Keep in mind that many small businesses are family-based organizations that exist not for the sake of gaining more and more market share but to employ a dozen or so people who are related to each other.
Typical examples are car dealerships, mortuary service companies, and local restaurants. The smaller firms that choose to actively seek expansion make up a minority of these kinds of entities.
4. Larger Competitors Dominate the Market
Some potential entrepreneurs suffer from a slight phobia of competition. They mistakenly believe that every major field of commercial activity is dominated by a handful of large corporations.
That is simply not the case, even in areas like banking, law, and manufacturing, where some of the world’s largest and most powerful corporations hold sway. The bare fact is that there are billions of consumers out there, and their collective demand for products and services is so great that the mega corporations can’t fulfill their needs.
The restaurant sector is a prime example of how this myth is askew. While there are about a half-dozen enormous fast-food chains, thousands of mom-and-pop eateries survive and thrive in markets of all sizes.
Whether you intend to sell computer chips, ice cream, medical services, tax advice, or anything else, don’t let the existence of major players dampen your desire to get into the marketplace and earn a profit.
5. It’s Difficult to Establish Credit
This piece of misinformation has been around for decades, and it’s still wrong. Especially in the 2020s, owners have several tactics for building commercial credit ratings. When first starting to finance your business and establish a financial identity they can ask vendors and suppliers for a small line of credit.
That arrangement eventually helps owners establish a credit score. Second, they can apply for a secured card, use it regularly, and pay off the entire balance each month. Finally, one of the fastest routes to good credit is to put up personal collateral for a commercial loan, pay the balance over 12 months, and then repeat the process.
Read Also:
- Top 5 Small Business Loan Myths Debunked
- Debunking 20 Myths About Financial Freedom
- Have You Been Investing Wrong? 8 Finance and Money Myths Busted
Author: Justin
