Abstract
This chapter examines the challenges facing small firms in their early years, and examines how best to screen new venture opportunities. The foundation of a small business is usually a personal decision by the owner-manager or managers who have decided to undertake the challenge and assume the risks associated with launching a new venture. A major factor that appears to motivate the formation of small firms is their owner-manager’s desire to create new opportunities and pursue their dreams. The ability of a new small business to survive its early years is likely to depend on how well prepared the owners are and how well they research their prospective markets. In this chapter we explore the factors likely to adversely impact on new ventures. We also look at the research and screening tasks required to determine the attractiveness of various business opportunities.
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Notes
- 1.
For Porter (1979, 1980) the competition on a market is shaped by the power of five forces: suppliers, customers, potential entrants, substitute products and the rivalry between the competitors of the market. Two additional forces have been added later: the regulation authorities and the complementors.
- 2.
SWAG – Scientific Wild Arse Guessing.
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Mazzarol, T., Reboud, S. (2020). Surviving the Early Years. In: Small Business Management. Springer Texts in Business and Economics. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-9509-3_3
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