Bulletin Vol. 2 No. 2 February 2003

B U L L E T I N

Tools and Resources for Data-Driven Market Research

Vol. 2 No. 2 February 2003


	IN THIS ISSUE: “Very small businesses” are growing Survey: How’s Business? Eagle Optics Opts for a Planned Approach, Part 2: Writing the Marketing Plan	Bulletin Archive

FROM THE EDITOR

Let me share with you some interesting facts about “very small businesses” I read in an article by Jeff Zbar in the South Florida Sun-Sentinel (12/15/02).

“Very small businesses” are growing

Businesses with four or fewer partners and no paid employees make up 70 percent of all U.S. businesses. This category grew 2.3 percent to 16.5 million between 1999 and 2000, the latest year for which statistics were available, according to the U.S. Census. Why? Jeff’s article offers a few insights.

New entrepreneurs include some who were laid off from corporate jobs, and others who quit to go it alone. Faltering investments have forced some retirees to return to business, often tapping skills practiced in younger days.

Successful micro-entrepreneurs share certain attributes: motivation, dedication, organization, and industry knowledge. They enjoy the degree of control that entrepreneurship brings. “Here we have the power to generate the work. That gives me a lot more optimism and hope,” said Corey Yugler, a partner in a family video documentary business profiled in Zbar’s article.

Juggling the demands of a micro-business is not easy. With no paid employees, all the roles — office duties, business development, client service, producing the work — fall on just a few shoulders. It can be challenging, to say the least. But as another of Zbar’s interviewees, Eddy Remy of Qwest Financial Consultants, said, “When you’re an employee, you feel like a puppet with someone else in control. Being on your own you really are the creator. We find it very exciting. It’s about taking risks and managing risks.”

Jeffery D. Zbar is a free-lance writer. He can be reached at jeff@chiefhomeofficer.com.

SURVEY

How’s Business?

We’d like to know how the road ahead looks to you. Got optimism on board? Or are you packing pessimism and checking the map for the next exit from entrepreneurship? Click here to take our survey and share your views.

TOOL BITS

Eagle Optics Opts for a Planned Approach, Part 2

A dentist and a nurse turn their birdwatching hobby into a business selling binoculars. Despite their inexperience, their business thrives — but they know better than to assume it will stay that way. The owners of Eagle Optics want to develop a marketing plan and document it in writing. In the last issue, Eagle Optics performed a Business Review as they began their planning process. Now, they are ready to begin shaping the written marketing plan.

Click here to read the story...

Would you like to see a marketing case study about your business in this column? Let me know what you’re doing, and perhaps I can share your story with other readers.

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Best regards,
Sarah White, Editor, the Bulletin
Third Wave Research

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The BULLETIN is published occasionally by Madison, Wisconsin-based Third Wave Research. Editor Sarah White and other associates of Third Wave Research write articles that appear in bCentral's "Demographics" and "Market Research" topic areas. For information about Third Wave Research's services, click here.

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Goin' SOHO!
Small Or Home Office

Jeff Zbar, the ChiefHomeOfficer.com, helps start-up and veteran entrepreneurs, displaced workers, and corporate teleworkers — and consults with companies hoping to reach this diverse and growing audience. Jeff's consultancy, Goin' SOHO! (small or home office), promotes working from home, telecommuting and the use of alternative work arrangements to improve worker morale, satisfaction, efficiency and productivity. Goin' SOHO! provides the insights, ideas and information needed to successfully work from home — and find happiness doing so.

Get Jeff's latest book, Teleworking and Telecommuting, online or at a bookstore near you. Visit his Web site for more information. www.ChiefHomeOfficer.com