StatsSA have highlighted that as the government considers new legislation to help small, medium, and micro-sized firms (SMMEs), data from the 2019 Annual Financial Statistics (AFS) survey shows that small businesses are becoming more important in the formal economy. Small and medium-sized businesses (SMMEs) are a key engine of economic growth, and their support reflects this. But what is a small business or small enterprise?
There is no definition of a small enterprise that everyone agrees on, but it is generally a description of any business with less than 50-100 employees, and includes profit-making enterprises (businesses) as well as not-for-profit enterprises (such as co-operatives).
Within the definition small enterprise, many people are recognizing a large number of very small (or micro) enterprises, with less than five employees.
Small enterprises are also sometimes called SMMEs (small, medium and micro enterprises), a term which includes the larger end of the small business sector – medium-sized businesses (which employ up to 200 people).
Great! You want to be part of this economic growth and have decided to start a business and earn money. You want to be an entrepreneur. But what is involved? There are certain steps you need to take to start off with. First of all, you need to have and idea.
Once you have an idea of what you would like to do, you need to research the feasibility of the idea. You need to do market research to see if your idea is suitable and then write up a business plan. When you have a viable idea and a business plan, you can look for finance to get going. You need to consider legalities such as getting registered and the different types of legal business models.
Once you have completed the basics of having an idea, creating a business plan and obtaining finance, you will want to manage and grow your business to ensure its success. You need to know the ins-and-outs of running a business.
Alternatives to starting a business with your own idea, are buying an existing business or buying a franchise.
