Problem

There has been exponential growth in entrepreneurship and small businesses in the past ten years. A report in 2016 shows that that 550,000 Americans launch small businesses each month. There are various reasons why many people are looking to have their own business or be self-employed. It has become significantly easier for people to start a business and many people see opportunities in the market. There has also been a significant rise in females and minorities starting new businesses because they have a lot of support to jumpstart but there is a huge gap in support when it comes to helping to sustain them.

Statistically, there is a 50% chance that a new business fails in the next 5 years and it is even more for tech startups- 90%. It is difficult to pin down a particular reason or failure. Many factors build a successful business and most of the time these are interconnected.

This research will be conducted by using various qualitative methods that will help understand the needs of business owners who are looking to save or grow their business.

Through secondary research such as literature and articles, I hope to understand the business field better, the pain points of business owners, and what are the existing business development and growth strategies.

Through primary research, I am to conduct in-depth interviews with small business owners and other professionals to understand their thoughts, feelings, habits, and processes of their business development.

Research

Interview