The Small Business Shutdown
Sam Bruning
Professor Sally Bennett
Comp I
23 October 2013
The Small Business Shutdown Imagine graduating college twenty-five years ago. Ever since you were a little kid, you have had a dream of opening up your own business. You would have no boss or anyone to talk down to you, and you control the entire business. You get to decide what you want to sell, who you want to work with, where your store is located, how you want to ship your products, and you overview the entire company or at least your branch of the company. This is a dream many American's have had. Twenty-five years ago, small business owners could thrive on having great customer service and could compete with the prices of large companies. Again, this was twenty-five years ago, before internet shopping was available and rapidly running small business owners out of business. Through a personal story and example, I will analyze the impact internet shopping has had on small business owners and describe what running a small business is like on a daily basis. Beth Jenkins was a franchisee of the store USA Baby. She is a very ambitious individual who grew up with her mom owning a small business of her own. Like Beth, her mother owned and operated a baby toy and furniture store of her own. Beth has always looked up to her mother and wanted to follow in her footsteps. After graduating college, Beth found the opportunity of a lifetime. “My mom called me and told me there was a franchise opening up around Kansas City,” she continued, “I thought she was kidding. To have an opportunity like that right after graduating college was a tremendous opportunity.” Being a franchisee was what Beth was looking for. “Being a part of another franchise was a very good idea for me. Being a franchisee provided me with support and security,” said Jenkins. “I was able to take a risk in starting my own business, but it was less risky knowing that other branches could support me.” After finding out that she would be a
Professor Sally Bennett
Comp I
23 October 2013
The Small Business Shutdown Imagine graduating college twenty-five years ago. Ever since you were a little kid, you have had a dream of opening up your own business. You would have no boss or anyone to talk down to you, and you control the entire business. You get to decide what you want to sell, who you want to work with, where your store is located, how you want to ship your products, and you overview the entire company or at least your branch of the company. This is a dream many American's have had. Twenty-five years ago, small business owners could thrive on having great customer service and could compete with the prices of large companies. Again, this was twenty-five years ago, before internet shopping was available and rapidly running small business owners out of business. Through a personal story and example, I will analyze the impact internet shopping has had on small business owners and describe what running a small business is like on a daily basis. Beth Jenkins was a franchisee of the store USA Baby. She is a very ambitious individual who grew up with her mom owning a small business of her own. Like Beth, her mother owned and operated a baby toy and furniture store of her own. Beth has always looked up to her mother and wanted to follow in her footsteps. After graduating college, Beth found the opportunity of a lifetime. “My mom called me and told me there was a franchise opening up around Kansas City,” she continued, “I thought she was kidding. To have an opportunity like that right after graduating college was a tremendous opportunity.” Being a franchisee was what Beth was looking for. “Being a part of another franchise was a very good idea for me. Being a franchisee provided me with support and security,” said Jenkins. “I was able to take a risk in starting my own business, but it was less risky knowing that other branches could support me.” After finding out that she would be a