Struggles of Small Businesses

By Josie August

For the exhibition, my topic is the struggles of small businesses.

This topic is important because I always wanted to own a small

business. But when I dove deeper, I learned that this topic matters so

much because small businesses often struggle. They face many

challenges, like needing more cash flow or finding good employees.

Small businesses are the backbone of any community. Imagine

if all we had in Princeton were big corporations like Starbucks. That

would take away the charm and uniqueness of Princeton. Small

businesses are what give a town its identity and character. One thing

I already know about this topic is that small businesses are vital to

any community. They contribute to the local economy, create jobs,

and give a town character.

 My central idea is: Community members can work together to

save struggling small businesses. I wrote this because I believe that

the community is the most important part to any small business. As I

explored this central idea, I wanted to understand the definition of a

small business, common challenges that small businesses face, and

ways to help small businesses stay open and succeed. My first line of

inquiry (LOI) is: The definition of small business. This is important

because before I take action I need to understand the basics.

Another LOI is: Challenges that small businesses face. I need this so I

can understand why small businesses fail. My final LOI is: Keeping

small businesses open. I need to understand this so I can help small

businesses and understand how small businesses succeed.

I had a lot of questions. Here are some of the main questions:

- What is a small business?

- What are some of the main struggles?

- How do customers affect small business owners?

- How do we prevent small businesses from closing?

- How do small businesses benefit the community?

So to find the information I needed, I looked for different articles,

videos, and books. Some of my most useful resources were the articles I

found.
 When researching what a small business is I had to look at multiple

sources because it seemed like everybody had a different definition of a

small business. After reading many articles I decided to read one to learn

the definition. This article is called “What is a Small Business” by The United

States Department of State. In this article, I learned that a small business is

“an independently owned business and is not dominant in its field.”

One of the most helpful articles I found, was an article by Walden

University called "Top 5 Challenges Small Business Owners Face.” This

article helped me answer the first question I had (What are some of the

main struggles?). Some of the main challenges I learned from this article

were lack of funds, lack of time, trouble finding good employees, and even

ineffective web presence. Also when I interviewed Roger Willams and

Joanne from JaZams they both said that Amazon has been really hard on

small businesses. Amazon sells cheaper toys and also publishes books

easily.

Another question that I found an answer to was about how to

prevent small businesses from closing. I started answering this question by

reading an article called “8 Ways You Can Support Small Businesses in

2024” by Kailey Hagen. This article talks about how when you shop locally

the money usually stays in the community. You can spread the word about

the business or you can donate. Also, one week a year the Small Business

Administration (SBA) celebrates small businesses.

 For my question about how customers affect small businesses, I had

to learn more than just the obvious of the customers buying products to

keep the business running. When interviewing Roger Williams (a former

owner of a local small business) he said “My customers are my business. I

teach authors about the business of book publishing-not a store. It's like a

doctor having patients except I have clients.” I also decided to think about

this logically instead of just using an article or a video. For example,

customers provide good feedback or businesses decide what to do based

on customer choices.

For my final question about how small businesses benefit the

community I used the Oliver POS Blog article called “7 Ways Small

Businesses Benefit the Community.” First, small businesses create job

opportunities for teenagers and young adults especially. Did you know

that small businesses account for 64% of new jobs in the US? They also

build a community. “Small businesses are part of the community in a way

big corporations are not”

Like I said before, my interviewee was Roger Williams. He owns a small

business that publishes new books. He also once owned a book store

which closed. I asked him about the hardest obstacle he had to overcome

with his business, he said, “A lot of people get impatient. It’s not easy to
convince a publisher to invest in a book.” He also said, “A Lot of authors

get impatient and they want to see their book published right away.”

When I asked him how his small business changed over time, he said,

“Very, dramatically, especially since Amazon was created. Book publishing-

thousands of books are published every year. It has become so much

easier for people to publish their books. Now people just say I don't need a

literary agent, I can just publish the book myself.”

For my action, I have decided to start my own small business called

Itty-Bitty Bubbles. For my business I decided to make my own soaps and

lotions with all proceeds going to a local small business called JaZams.

You may know them for their many books and toys. My soaps will be

homemade and made in small batches. If you would like to purchase any

soaps or lotion please contact me at josephine@foaaugust.com. I am

doing this to keep one of my favorite small businesses alive and healthy.

I find that small businesses are just so important to any community.

Throughout writing my I-Search I felt so many emotions from anger to

pride. Small businesses are the heart of any community and it's so

important to support small businesses in any way you can. When

researching at first it was hard to find articles, But when I kept going it got

easier. For my action it took a while to figure out what I was going to do let
alone making a ton of soap. What surprised me is that small businesses

are so diverse and so versatile.

A future action I may take is to continue working on my business and

donate more money to small businesses. As I was researching, a new

question popped into my head. What subconsciously makes a person want

to be an entrepreneur? For example when I was really young, I didn't know

what a small business was but I still pretended I owned a little bakery. I

wonder if this is typical or just my special interest or something that's just

me. In the end, I am so grateful to be part of this experience. So, thank you

for taking the time to read my I-Search. And thank you for even just paying

attention.

Works Cited

“7 Ways Small Businesses Benefit the Community”

Oliver POS Blog, 6th February 2024

https://www.oliverpos.com/7-ways-small-businesses-benefit-the-community
/

Hagen, Kailey “How (And Why) to Support Small

Businesses When You Can” The Ascent,

 August 2022

https://www.fool.com/the-ascent/small-business/articles/support-small-bu
siness/

“Top 5 Challenges Small Business Owners Face”

Walden University, 2024

https://www.waldenu.edu/programs/business/resource/top-five-challenges
-small-business-owners-face

Ulmer, Mikaila. Bee Fearless. New York City: Penguin

Random House LLC, 2020.

“What is a Small Business” The United States

Department of State, 20th August, 2019

https://www.state.gov/what-is-a-small-business/