A small business venture is an enterprise that has less than 100 employees, but this figure normally differs from one country to another. In Europe for example, a small enterprise is one that has less than 50 employees and in Australia, it is one that has less than 10 employees.

In terms of ownership, the businesses are normally privately owned, either by partners or by sole proprietors or entrepreneurs. Such entrepreneurs often report low turnover because they happen not to be dominant in their area of operation. It is common for many entrepreneurs to run their enterprises from home and as such, these ventures are referred to as micro businesses. Such ventures include convenience stores, small shops, restaurants, guest houses, photographers among others.

When starting a small enterprise, the entrepreneur should be aware of the problems as well as the advantages likely to be derived from the venture. When we look at the advantages, we find that, the cost of starting it are quite low meaning that, one need not have a large capital base. The enterprise can also be run on a part-time basis. Decision making is also very fast as there is no bureaucratic procedure to follow.

Bankruptcy is one of the problems that small businesses face. Often, entrepreneurs have to borrow from creditors in order to acquire starting capital or to expand the venture. Since the enterprise fetches low turnover as earlier mentioned, balancing between debits and credits sometimes proves difficult. Other concerns are rising energy costs as well as taxes.