There is a small town in a Midwestern state. It is not a busy,
bustling metropolis by any stretch of the imagination but there are a
few franchises of nationally known companies. And in this town, there
are also other businesses, including a few that are mid sized and some
that are much smaller. There is a small scale business inside of this
town that at first blush would not be all that impressive but a glance
at the woman's books might change your mind. While hers is a much
smaller business by size than the others in that immediate area, she is
actually making much bigger profits. There are several reasons why this
is true.
The People in the Small Scale Business
One of the major reasons that a small scale business might be highly profitable despite its size is the people that are involved. They care more about the customers because every single customer lost can be the last. A huge company can anger and outrage a small percentage of their customers and still turn a profit but a small scale business cannot. Because they are so small, they know each other well and it shows. They know their customers, if not by name right away, by preference. The business from before is that way: the owner is a smiling, pleasant and very knowledgeable person, she knows a little bit about every single item in her lovely shop and she knows what each person has bought in the past and what she might be able to show them now.
The Items that a Small Scale Business Has to Offer
In a huge market, there can be a wide range of items, but not a lot of selection within each category. It is an ironic contradiction in terms that can be very frustrating when you are looking for a certain type of item. On the other hand, the small scale business will not have everything that you could possibly want but may specialize in one or two types of things instead, giving your far more options in that category. In our example company, the main focus is on jewelry and organic spices and fragrances- every scent of incense in pretty jars line the bigger part of one wall and the hand made jewelry sparkles and glistens in design cases. She can tell you about the scents or the stones that she is selling, the perfect working model of what makes a small scale business the perfect reprieve from cookie cutter, bland and boring, big box retail stores.
The People in the Small Scale Business
One of the major reasons that a small scale business might be highly profitable despite its size is the people that are involved. They care more about the customers because every single customer lost can be the last. A huge company can anger and outrage a small percentage of their customers and still turn a profit but a small scale business cannot. Because they are so small, they know each other well and it shows. They know their customers, if not by name right away, by preference. The business from before is that way: the owner is a smiling, pleasant and very knowledgeable person, she knows a little bit about every single item in her lovely shop and she knows what each person has bought in the past and what she might be able to show them now.
The Items that a Small Scale Business Has to Offer
In a huge market, there can be a wide range of items, but not a lot of selection within each category. It is an ironic contradiction in terms that can be very frustrating when you are looking for a certain type of item. On the other hand, the small scale business will not have everything that you could possibly want but may specialize in one or two types of things instead, giving your far more options in that category. In our example company, the main focus is on jewelry and organic spices and fragrances- every scent of incense in pretty jars line the bigger part of one wall and the hand made jewelry sparkles and glistens in design cases. She can tell you about the scents or the stones that she is selling, the perfect working model of what makes a small scale business the perfect reprieve from cookie cutter, bland and boring, big box retail stores.
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