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Small Town, Big Impact

Small businesses stand as a significant factor in establishing the economic stability of

communities around the nation. The dominance of larger corporations has recently come to

overshadow the importance of small business in a local environment and how these entities so

greatly influence the immediate community. The research conducted in arguing the importance

of small businesses reveals the relevance that they have in communities around the country and

the factors that allow both entry-level entrepreneurs to establish companies of their own and

experienced businessmen who specialize in business management and development. These

factors include a strong consumer base, location, environment suitable for healthy business

growth, financial climate, and regulatory policies. Although these elements stand as strong

predictors of small business success, technology has also become a competitive advantage, when

utilized appropriately, in aiding the development and expansion of a potential business

opportunity. Modern business is supported through advertisement to persuade consumers and

argue the relevance of the advertised product to individuals.

Technology and updated software equip institutions with the ability to adapt and get their

product to the market in a timely and thoughtful way. A product that is seen first is often the

product that is wanted first and, in some cases, sought out the most. Speed and design of

advertisement, convenience, and product marketability allow for businesses to present the

information or the product to the consumer base prior to other companies and creating a market

advantage. One reason smaller institutions are beginning to vanish in the shadow of corporate

dominance is corporations capacity to produce timely, quality advertising campaigns. However,

the use of technology in small business can reach far beyond advertisement. Tech usage for
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businesses also may involve payment, finances, inventory, employee management, general

management, and opportunities for a business to establish contact with and receive valuable

feedback from its customers. The challenge for local business is that they often cannot afford the

software and equipment necessary in making these types of developments.

Research conducted by journalists, scholars and university business schools acts to

examine methods by which small businesses can overcome obstacles in pursuance of high levels

of business-related success. Theorists contend that there are two categories of small business

entrepreneurs: those who pursue business as a result of passion in their trade and those who

pursue business to reach the corporate level and excel careers in business. With either type, a

certain uniqueness or sense of individuality exists, especially one that is dependent on local

resources and citizens to maintain a competitive standing with other companies of various sizes

and success rates. The uniqueness of small businesses is what allows each individual community

or city to obtain reputations for quality goods and a history of dominance in specific markets.

Communities that achieve goals of financial success are very likely to share that success with

neighboring areas. As similar businesses grow and consolidate, industries and companies

themselves grow. Without small business, the world may be void of corporate giants. In a sense,

everybody has to start somewhere.

The imperative role of small businesses in local communities tends to be constantly

overlooked in regards to their importance with the local environment. Popular arguments on

topic of small businesses and their role often relates to how these local institutions are

overshadowed by dominant corporations controlling the market through volumes of

advertisement and mass production that allow them achieve maximum customer convenience.
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However, local institutions tend to be more versatile and specialized in comparison to larger

corporations. The effects of competition with behemoth corporations, both negative and positive,

impact the surrounding businesses and neighborhoods in a dramatic sense. Schools of all levels

(elementary, middle, high school, and college), churches and religious institutions, and other

professional organizations are affected by the success of small business and large companies. It

can also be said that businesses of varied size and success can affect the growth and longevity of

local institutions as well. Development of a professional environment though quality education

and recreational opportunities could greatly increase the creation of a high-end supportive

business climate in community. Businesses attract educated people with salaries that support

other local businesses. In turn, a community with established education opportunities and other

amenities can attract businesses to start or locate in that community, benefiting the surrounding

areas as well.

The small business industry has an incredible role in local economic stability. However,

the real question is for what other reason do young entrepreneurs pursue such an arduous task

such as starting a business? Through research, this question can be answered simply by

recognizing the uniqueness and passion that drives individuals to continue their work and, most

importantly, share it with others. The ability of creative individuals to take their skills, passions,

and hobbies and produce a marketable product can seriously increase both the emotional and

physical value of the product. A product possessing originality can attract a vast consumer base.

From locals to businessmen to tourists, originality is key in small businesses around the country.

This allows a business to further reach out and not only share their product with others, but

continue to inspire other entrepreneurs to turn their skills and passions into a business, sharing
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their talent with the world.

The originality associated with small business derives from the ability of the entrepreneur

to become creative and innovative. The article Small Business Innovation, written by Pamela

Sarvela and June Kallestad, University of Minnesota Duluth, primarily recognizes the

developmental phase that beginner entrepreneurs encounter when starting their own business.

The University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD) possesses a program dedicated to the growth and

development of small business called the Natural Resources Research Institute (NRRI). The

NRRI and its research on business management is accompanied by the Small Business

Innovation Initiative (SBII), of which conducts research on methods for supporting entrepreneurs

in manufacturing, developing, and the necessary processes for effectively managing a business

and job generation. These two programs within the University of Minnesota Duluth work to

produce solutions to the most identifiable and difficult processes commonly undertaken by

beginner entrepreneurs.

The aspects of business development recognized by programs such as the NRRI and SBII

of UMD stand as considerable in individual business development and management, yet it

presents little description of how these business characteristics can not only mutually benefit

fellow businesses but the community and even the surrounding area. Although many factors in

business success lie within the community, others derive from neighboring communities. Once

an institution accomplishes its goals such as those researched by the NRRI and SBII of UMD,

said institution will continue to attract a larger consumer base. This attraction of customers

provides a mutually-beneficial business opportunity for neighboring communities by keeping

citizens constantly seeking out businesses within the neighboring community. Constant
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movement of people keeps each community thriving economically through supporting the small

business industries of one another.

Although the NRRI and SBII touched on many subjects regarding growth, development,

and management, strategy is also a very significant factor on whether or not a business is

correctly set up for success. The article Business strategy, business policy, corporate strategy or

strategic management, excerpted from the Collins Dictionary of Business, primarily stresses

proper business strategy and corporate policy to effectively and successfully manage a business.

The Collins Dictionary of Business recognizes nine main aspects of business strategy, three steps

in the business strategy process, and the three main levels where strategy exists in a business.

The nine main aspects of business strategy are objective setting, environmental scanning,

position audit, strategic direction, choice of growth mode, competitive strategy, establishment of

organizational structures, strategy implementation, and review and control. These strategies

affect all financial and legal considerations help businesses prepare for all possible scenarios.

The three steps in the business strategy process are strategic analysis, strategy development, and

strategy implementation. The three main levels where strategy resides in business are corporate

strategy, business strategy, and functional strategy.

Risk Overhang and Loan Portfolio Decisions: Small Business Loan Supply before and

during the Financial Crisis is a volume, written by Deyoung, Gron, Torna, and Winton, from

The Journal of Finance (Vol. LXX, No. 6) primarily seeks to inform young entrepreneurs on

subjects regarding financial decision making and the risk involved with extracting loans in

pursuance of small business establishment and management. The volume begins in categorizing

small businesses as less than 500 employees in comparative reasoning with corporate entities,
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but also touches on the crucial mutual relationship between small businesses and community

banks. The volume is split up into six main subjects of description: I) Loan Supply with Capital

Market Imperfections: Theory, II) Market Imperfections and Small Bank Lenders, III) Data and

Variables, IV) Estimation and Identification, V) Results, and VI) Conclusion. Each section

contributes heavily to the developed theories, estimations, variables, supply, and research

conducted on small business and community banks, how it pertains to small business owners,

analyzing the decision making of entrepreneurs as well as the financial aspect of business and

economics.

Another subject that all businesses, particularly small businesses, find challenging relates

to taxes and navigating the tax system. Tax policy has come to present itself as a make or

break situation for many local business owners due to the meticulous legalities that must be

attainable for proper functionality. This issue is well-described in the article Small Business,

Innovation, and Tax Policy: A Review, written by William Gale and Samuel Brown, editors and

researchers under the National Tax Journal. Williams and Brown argue the difficulty of the

various obstacles that small business personnel face throughout the process. The review, divided

into six sections, seeks ample and clear description of public policies toward small businesses

and effects of public policies on small business and innovation.

Small business must achieve proficiency in skillfully utilizing available resources to

modernize the business and become more effective as an institution. One absolutely vital

resource for modern businesses is production and management technology. Technology can

provide a business with myriads of advantages regarding product management and production,

customer attraction, company promotion, and finances. However, the key with technology is
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being able to conduct a maximum effort with minimal expenses. The catch is that software used

in the modern business world is often expensive, which often restricts companies ability to

obtain the right technology for the right price. An example of a popular software and support

company is Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (ADP). ADP mainly administers human resources

software and services to customers. Their website page is meant to help business owners with

payroll services and to provide a friendly and helpful environment throughout the payroll process

by offering payroll software and support to small business entrepreneurs. The site also provides

both beginner and experienced level entrepreneurs with a free business quote and aid with

managing future and current employees.

Small businesses have recently come to be greatly overshadowed by the dominance of

corporate influence regarding the modern market. Such dominance diminishes and devalues the

unique yet rather significant role of small businesses in context of local economic strength. This

uniqueness is the key factor to establishing individuality and passion within not just business but

those who own and manage them. Both Matthias Glaub and the Collins Dictionary of Business

display descriptive context in providing factually-based material, found through research, to

primarily aid in small business management and the various perspectives presented by young

entrepreneurs when managing their own institution. Management, financials, policies,

technology, and strategy are only several of the multiple yet inevitable obstacles that small

business owners must overcome to achieve success when in competition with not just larger

businesses but other local companies as well. Larger corporations use strategies such as

advertisement of topics including product availability, convenience, and versatility to attract a

vast and diverse consumer base, henceforth taking customers from small businesses which, in
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turn, greatly restrict small business growth and development. Without small businesses, there

would be difficulty in achieving local economic stability. Economic stability in a community is

crucial in this type of environment due to its whole independence and inner dependability

between local institutions. Business interdependency is what provides a community with the

opportunity to achieve success as well as support a healthy lifestyle and business-friendly

environment. Establishing such an environment could easily aid in the supporting of overall

economic development throughout all aspects of a community. These aspects could include

academics as well as myriads of other professions, all of which would come to mutually benefit

one another.

It has been well demonstrated that small businesses can have a tremendous positive impact

on local economies and surrounding communities. Gaining national prominence is much more

difficult due to corporate giants that control large portions of the modern market. However, it has

been stated that every organization must start somewhere. Without small business, the world

would stand void of the corporate giants who now control most markets with their availability to

produce in large quantities, cut costs, afford superior technology, and advertise on a massive

scale. Despite the advantages of large corporations, passion and uniqueness are ingredients that

giants may lack. Combining these with local support and strong community instructions, small

businesses have secured their place in local and broader economic markets.

Works Cited

Acs, Zoltan J. . Small Business Economics: A Global Perspective. Small Business Economics:

A Global Perspective. N.p., Nov. & dec. 1992. Web. 5 Jan. 2017.
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Collins Dictionary of Business. Business strategy, business policy, corporate strategy or

strategic management. Business strategy, business policy, corporate strategy or strategic

management. Collins Dictionary of Business, 2006. Web. 2 Jan. 2017.

Deyoung, Robert, Anne Gron, Gokhan Torna, and Andrew Winton. Risk Overhang and Loan

Portfolio Decisions: Small Business Loan Supply before and during the Financial Crisis.

Risk Overhang and Loan Portfolio Decisions: Small Business Loan Supply before and

during the Financial Crisis. The Journal of Finance, n.d. Web. 4 Jan. 2017.

Gale, William, and Samuel Brown. Small Business, Innovation, and Tax Policy: A Review.

Small Business, Innovation, and Tax Policy: A Review. National Tax Journal, Dec. 2013.
Web. 5 Jan. 2017.

Glaub, Matthias E., Michael Frese, Sebastian Fischer, and Maria Hoppe. Increasing Personal

Initiative in Small Business Managers or Owners Leads to Entrepreneurial Success: A

Theory-Based Controlled Randomized Field Intervention for Evidence-Based

Management. Academy of Management Learning and Education, n.d. Web. 4 Jan. 2017.

Run your business. Leave payroll to us. ADP Payroll Services for Businesses of all Sizes. N.p.,

n.d. Web. 02 Jan. 2017.

Sarvela, Pamela, and June Kallestad. Small Business Innovation . Small Business Innovation.

University of Minnesota, 1 Jan. 2013. Web. 2 Jan. 2017.