Business Majors: Best (and worst) Small Businesses

Intuit put up a flow chart documenting the best (and worst) small business opportunities, and some of them may be surprising to you.

Good small businesses include pilates and yoga studios and accessory stores while bad choices range between movie rental franchises, music stories, and bookstores. Surprisingly, electronics (computers, etc.) aren't doing well either.
If you plan on opening a small business (or going to work for a small business franchise) consider some of the "good" options. Try working in your dream industry for a while (maybe even take a part time job to pay your tuition bills).

Accomplished small business owners and entrepreneurs fail before they ever become successful. In the same way, good salespeople know that they have to get a certain number of "Nos" before they will make a sale. This also translates to the entrepreneur who wants to convince a banker or venture capitalist to invest in his or her business. So if you are planning on going into business just know failure is a part of your success.

While some of these small businesses (successful or unsuccessful) are fairly predictable, are there small businesses they left out? What kind of small business would you like to open?

Comments

  1. UnknownSeptember 28, 2012 at 11:44 PM

    This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  2. A'kialah AnsarOctober 10, 2012 at 4:18 PM

    My major is Pre-Business and in that field, I want to focus on Entreprenuership or Corporate Management. I do want to own a small business once I recieve my degree. I want to start a cafe and eventually I want to own a chain of cafe's. I do small research now to get a feel of what to expect after I graduate and it worries me. To fund a cafe from "scratch" is really expensive. I know forsure I will not be able to afford it fresh out of college BUT I'm glad I learned that now so it would not be such a suprise to me when my business plan is complete and I'm ready to go. Of course I have other worries like, how will I get employees, how will I promote my cafe, WILL ANYONE TRY IT? But I plan to educate myself on these things during my college career and hope for the best with my customer turnout.

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  3. UnknownOctober 29, 2012 at 8:50 AM

    A small business I want to have is a Salon. Currently I am in school and my major is pre- business with this I want two things, to be a Certified Public Accountant and to get my Master's in Business Administration.

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  4. UnknownOctober 29, 2012 at 12:19 PM

    One small business which was left out was a Salon. As a student who is majoring in business myself, I have other motives to why I'm interested in this specific major. I hope that what I learn in school based off of Entreprenuership, Management, as well as all the other aspects of business, help prepare me to one day open up my own Salon which incorporates both cosmetology as well as fashion styling. I've never walked into a salon like that so I always felt it'd be pretty cool to create one myself. But like every successful dream, I first need the education to back it up which is why the business program is in my benefit and super important to me.

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  5. Noemi SalcedoOctober 30, 2012 at 8:22 AM

    My parents both have what one would consider a "small business." My Father is a contractor and my Mother is the owner of a housekeeping company. Both companies have been very successful and my father's has expanded a lot in the last couple of years. None of them have degrees in business and they've had their companies for 10+ years. As of for me, I'd love to own a club or a authentic Mexican restaurant. i know my parents have thought of opening up a restaurant; perhaps when my mom sells her housekeeping company.

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  6. Sean HanOctober 30, 2012 at 10:59 PM

    Hmm.. Looks like I am making the right choice not majoring in business anymore. For me, it is too risky of a future; however, I am still iffy on wanting to go into business. I have a feeling I could really thrive as a business man, but my passion lies in more of health/exercise. I would love to open up my own gym however, so maybe a minor in business wouldn't hurt. Anyways, this post was pretty surprising for the most part. Who knew pilates/yoga were on the rise?

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  7. UnknownDecember 3, 2012 at 8:52 AM

    If I can open any business I would probably open a health store where I would sell organic and natural foods and products. I feel like a lot of places like Hayward lack such store. Or at least I haven't seen one around, which makes it poorly advertised. I believe it would be very successful because if it is one of the only organic stores in an area, then I would have a lot of people walking in.

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  8. AnonymousJanuary 5, 2013 at 6:46 PM

    How do private dental offices stack up against Pilates and Yoga studios?

    ReplyDelete
  9. UnknownJanuary 16, 2013 at 10:21 AM

    This information was very helpful because I want to start my own business that is a cafe or a bakery. I know that there will be many difficulties because it is not easy to run a business by myself. However, I want to do this. Also, by knowing what is in and what is not is very useful to use in the future. It gives me a chance to plan out on what I want to do, and to figure out the steps to take to run a successful business. It maybe risky to do this, but by going to college, getting a masters degree, and enter into culinary arts school will help me know how to run my business. I might print this out to remind me in the future. I wonder if there is more information about other successful business outcomes that are both good and bad?

    ReplyDelete
  10. AlizaJeanMallareFebruary 13, 2013 at 4:10 PM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  11. AlizaJeanMallareFebruary 13, 2013 at 4:13 PM

    A small business that is commonly looked over is event planning businesses. Those whom dedicates their personal time to planning an event for someone else. This is a personal dream job of my own. I would love to start an event planning business of my own because I absolutely love organizing and planning. I find that when I am given multiple tasks, it is a thrill to complete. Organizing or planning an event always gives me the feeling of accomplishment when I am finished, as well as brings me great joy to see my work bring a smile to another persons face. Planning such events like weddings is something I would very much enjoy, even with the thought of "bridezillas" and of the many things that could go wrong. However, this career path is not for someone who wants to have a family in the long run. Event planners are on the job 24 hours of every day of the week to tend to their client's needs at respectable hours (meaning any other time the planner is not sleeping). An event planner does not have a job unless they have a client. It takes years to build up a good image and credibility before they get to a steady income every month. If they do reach this point then they surely do not have any spare or free time. Although this may be something I'd love to do, I do not think I could dedicate my life to this career.

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