Is A Small Business Owner An Entrepreneur example essay topic

Is a small business owner an entrepreneur? In order to answer this difficult question, one must compare characteristics and understand the difference between small business owners and entrepreneurs. Additionally, one must establish baseline definitions of a small business and an entrepreneur. Clear-cut definitions vary on what categorizes a business as small in the government's eyes, thus, size standards have been established by the North American Industry Classification System Association (NAICS.) For example, depending on the industry, the NAICS differentiates between small and large businesses by using size standards either in millions of dollars of receipts per year or by the number of employees the business has on its payroll. The company featured in this paper, TF Foodmart of Tampa, Florida, is a gasoline station with a convenience store.

Therefore, the 2002 NAICS considers an establishment in this industry to be a small business if it has annual receipts of less than $23 million per year (Table of Small Business Size Standards.) As for the definition of an entrepreneur, according to Ryan and Hiduke, an entrepreneur is " [a] visionary self-starter who loves the adventure of a new enterprise and is willing to risk his or her own money (2). Another definition of an entrepreneur-derived from the Old French word entreprendre meaning "to undertake"-would be someone that "organizes, operates, and assumes the risk for a business venture" (Dictionary. com / entrepreneur.) With these two definitions in mind, a small business owner may be characterized as an entrepreneur since a small business owner takes risks with their finances on a daily basis. According to Maxwell, .".. taking risks is an everyday part of life in my business" (24 Aug. 2003). Maxwell, a married, 49 year old mother of two started TF Foodmart in the summer of 1998 after sustaining an injury on the job and being out of work for an extended period of time. Using family savings as well as a small business loan, she built a brand new building on a vacant lot on the main intersection of town. When asked why this particular business was chosen, Maxwell states, "the choice was simple.

I wanted [a business] close to my home I could manage easily and one that would fulfill a need in the community" (2 Aug. 2003). Furthermore, she feels that this particular choice in business would be successful due to limited competition in the area and the intent to offer unique services and products not found in a fifteen mile radius. TF Foodmart consists of six gas pumps dispensing various grades of unleaded gasoline as well as a large area set aside for dispensing diesel fuel to large commercial vehicles. Both sets of pumps offer 24-hour "pay at the pump" services, thus offering an alternative for those who need to fuel their vehicles after the main store is closed for the evening. Maxwell feels that "this was one of the little things that set us apart from the other service stations in the area" (2 Aug. 2003).

Other services not offered by other convenient stores in the area is a limited-service community bank with drive thru banking (added in the summer of 2000, ) a Broaster Chicken counter offering various fried foods and sandwiches, an in-store ATM, and a well rounded stock of food, drinks, and everyday house hold items. By offering these unique services, TF Foodmart positioned itself to be a place where area workers go to daily for lunch, to socialize, and to do banking, thus fulfilling a need in the community, which was a goal in establishing the business. Also, Maxwell chose to enter into a franchise agreement with Ashland Gas (now Fast Fuel) due to name recognition in the region as well as the many support services offered. According to Straub and Attner, franchisees receive a combination of benefits such as national advertising and sales promotion programs, proven work layout refined for maximum efficiently in a minimum amount of space, owner and employee training programs, an accounting system that meets the needs of the business and fulfills the reporting requirements of the parent company, as well as other services that can boost a small retailer's success (545,546).

Due to the variety of support services offered and stability of the Ashland franchise, Maxwell feels confident in her decision to align her new business with a franchise rather than "going out on her own" (2 Aug 2003). When discussing risk-taking with Maxwell, she felt the. ".. biggest risk was the first steps in opening the business in the first place" (24 Aug. 2003). One major risk identified was the potential negative financial impact the business would have on her family during the first year. This worried her more than anything. She was not concerned about the time that may be lost should the business fail, nor was she worried about her image in the community (an important factor for her, ) but finances played a key role in deciding how much she was willing to risk. Now that the business is running strong, Maxwell partook in various risks relating to the development of the business, such as incorporating a bank, and a Broaster Chicken counter.

She felt that these were calculated and justified once she saw how she could leverage herself in the area to be "the one service station in the area that offers it all" (Maxwell, 24 Aug. 2003). Another point discussed with regards to risk was how large of a business Maxwell wants hers to become. She feels that with each small endeavor that is taken on to build up the existing business, it potentially puts her and her business in a position that will inevitably make it impossible to offer the level of customer service she would want to maintain, mainly due to a lack of availability of solid employees. Most of her employees are teenage high-school students that transition in and out frequently, thus putting her and her two managers in a difficult position when it comes to training. Since the availability of customer service oriented employees in this area are hard to come by, it somewhat hinders the possibility of expanding her business to offer other services to set her apart from her competition, such as introducing a Taco-Bell Express. However, Maxwell feels that this situation cannot be a prevailing factor for choosing not to risk expanding her business.

"I didn't think I would come this far in such a short amount of time", states Maxwell (24 Aug. 2003). It appears that her risks have been well rewarded with the success of her business to date. In closing, one of the key characteristics credited to entrepreneurs is risk-taking; a business person cannot introduce brand new ideas, services, and practices into the workplace without partaking in an element of risk. One cannot be sure of the success of an innovative or unique idea until it has actually been put into place. Maxwell has demonstrated that calculated risk is an everyday part of business, and is a crucial factor in staying ahead of the competition. To answer the question, "Is a small business owner an entrepreneur?" the answer would be yes, as is proven everyday at TF Foodmart.

Dictionary. com / entrepreneur. Lexico Publishing Group, LLC. 17 Aug. 2003. Maxwell, Deborah. Personal Interview. 2 Aug. 2003 Maxwell, Deborah.

Personal Interview. 24 Aug. 2003 Ryan, J.D. and Hiduke, Gail P. Small Business: An Entrepreneur's Business Plan 6th ed. United States of America: Thompson Learning, Inc., 2003. Straub, Joseph T. and Attner, Raymond F. Introduction to Business 3rd ed. Boston: Thompson PWS-KENT Publishing Company, 1988. Table of Small Business Size Standards.

Office of Size Standards. 7 Jul. 2003. Small Business Administration. 13 Aug. 2003...