Small Scale Business - What Is Right For You?

If you have decided that you want to own a small business, you are probably very excited about entering the world of commerce with something that you can call your own. Perhaps you want to supplement your salary or are looking for ways to earn additional money during your retirement. Maybe you want to see if you can turn something that you love, such as a favorite hobby, into a profitable venture.
Why a Small Scale Business?
There are a number of reasons that many people choose to think about owning a business on a small scale. There certainly are lifestyle justifications for such a decision. Here are a few of the most common of those:

• Without employees, you never have to worry about meeting payroll commitments.
• Required record keeping can be less intimidating without having to worry about employee liability, workman's compensation insurance (tax), withholding money from the employees for federal and state taxes, meeting your share of the payroll tax, etc.
• A smaller business can be set up with far simpler structures than are available to large businesses. Some people in the U.S. decide to run the business as a "sole proprietor," while others choose to organize a single owner limited liability company (L.L.C.). Both of those options have fewer restrictions than registering as one of the several types of corporations. In most cases, a small scale business requires less start-up capital and will have lower operating costs in the beginning.

Getting Started
You will need to decide whether you want to purchase an existing business or start your own from scratch (called a "start-up"). Each has its advantages and disadvantages. Let's look at some of those as they impact important variables:

• You have more information about the business if it has a track record. Buying an existing business means that you will have a fairly accurate idea of what the expenses are and what revenue you can expect, at least in the short-term. On the other hand, all of this information comes with a higher initial investment.
• You have more of an opportunity to build the business as you want with a start-up. For some entrepreneurs this has a very high emotional value. There is a lot of pride that comes from the creative process.

There is an alternative to these two that brings the best of both into play. That is a franchise or similar sort of approach. In this case you get a lot of the same information that you would get from buying an existing small business. For example, most franchise companies have a track record based upon the experience of a number of owners. They will share that information with you. Furthermore, the better companies will provide the necessary training for you that you would otherwise have to learn on your own through trial and error. Perhaps most importantly, you are able to take the credit for building your own business from the beginning.
Obviously there is some expense in the franchise fee, but much of that actually goes into promoting your own business through advertising and other marketing efforts. Some franchises can cost a million dollars or more, but there are also opportunities (especially with internet franchises) where the franchise fee may be just a few thousand or even a few hundred dollars.
Think about the various alternatives that exist for you in establishing a small scale business. Do your research and you should be successful in reaching your reasonable objectives. Most of all remember to have fun in your endeavor and be proud of your success.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/5733380