Quote:
Originally Posted by parafly
People can argue about federal policies until they are blue in the face, but at the end of the day, the country is seeing a decline in small business due to the actions of the consumer base.
Consumers have put a top priority on convenience and cheap prices. Under this environment, big box stores thrive and small businesses die. The convenience of a one stop shop combined with cheap prices driven by foreign labor and large scalability are proving to be irresistible to the average consumer.
If you want to see a resurgence in small businesses, stop blaming the government and the President, and go spend your money accordingly. Voicing your displeasure about government policies while continuing to shop at Walmart, Target, and Starbucks is not going to solve anything.
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Wrong. Shopping at Wallmart isn't the problem. People have been shopping there for years. Small businesses aren't just stores on main street. People run all types of companies. There are many diverse reasons why small businesses are suffering. Government regulation plays a very large roll in it. The meandering economy doesn't help things. The main issue however is that success rates for start up businesses are just too low. If startup costs are high and there is a high chance of failure it makes sense that people would choose the safer path. Just getting an LLC today requires a multi week multi step process including ads in the local papers, lawyers and fees.
A friend of mine opened a small ice cream shop in NJ a few years back. By the time he was finished with the permits, regulations and red tape the cost to open was over $400,000. He didn't even own the building for that price. I knew when it opened that the deal was destined for failure. Startup costs were too high. 3 years later he was out of business.
There are endless stories like that one. Lately it seems that the return for risking capital to start a business very often simply isn't worth the risk.