University Daily Kansan
Friday, April 28, 1972
3
Small Business May Be Job Solution
By JEAN MORGAN
Kansan Staff Writer
The spring semester is quickly drawing to a close, and there are many students who do not have the ability to work in college they have not decided on their careers. If jobs are a problem, they might be the rewarding solution.
Experience obtained on jobs, in school and from hobbies will help students develop the skills. Bunn, deputy chief of the procurement and management division of the Kansas City Small Business Administration, said
In making a selection of a business, Bunn said, the more experience and training a person has had that can be put to direct operation a particular enterprise, the better his chances of success.
A CAREFUL STUDY and investigation should be made of the amount of capital needed for a business, Bunn said. No average figure can be specified because the amount differs by company; for example, business, type of establishment, location and current price level.
Bunn said one of the principal causes of failures among students is poor financing. Therefore, the available capital must exceed the initial capital requirements by a minimum of $10 million only to have money to get started but also enough in reserve to meet future needs until it becomes self-supporting.
If a person does not have sufficient capital, Bunn said, he may be unable to afford enough employees to keep the business running. He recommends equipment, maintain an adequate stock of merchandise or materials to build sales volume, take advantage of discounts by creditors and grant customer credit to meet competition.
BRUN SAD the first source of money for a business was personal savings. Other sources are relatives, friends or other people who might be found willing to share their savings in a business, he said.
Once a person can show he has carefully worked out his financial requirements and can demonstrate experience and integrity, a lending institution may be willing to finance part of his operating expenses on a short-term basis from 60 days to as much as one year.
equipment manufacturer, Bunn said.
The main outside sources of capital credit in the early days of a business are the commercial bank and the trade creditor or
Although it is important for a person to choose a location for his job, you should be happy. Bunn said, he should make sure the community needs food.
TIME AND EFFORT devoted to the selection of the town or city, the area within the town or city and the particular site within the town. There is a difference between success and failure for a business, Bunn said.
In selecting a town, the trend in population should be considered. As much as possible should be considered by the population, such as the breakdown by age, occupation and income on the sales volume, Bunn said.
The number of competitive businesses already in the area should also influence the choice of location. Research indicates there is a relationship between the number of inhabitants in a city and the number of stores of various types they can support.
RENT IS A significant expense in the operation of most small businesses. Therefore, the manager must be aware and whether rents are out of line in relation to the planned sales volume should be determined. As a caution, Bunn said, a town office must stand solely on the basis of low rent.
The kind and variety of merchandise carried helps to determine the type of shopping being made, and closes within the town. Bunn said.
For example, clothing stores,
jewelry stores and department
stores are more likely to be
successful in the main or outlying
areas of the city, while elsewhere, Grocery stores, drug
stores, filling stations and
bakeries do well on principall thoroughfares and neighborhood streets outside the shopping districts. Bunn said.
HE SAID the size of the store would also help determine the area to be chosen. The original small that it would be impossible to obtain sufficient sales volume in this town location. It would then be necessary to select the outlying neighborhood area of a large city from the smaller one.
After finding an area best suited to a type of business, Bunn said, as many facts as possible are needed for the competition. The sales volume of the same kind of businesses in the area is an important factor to consider.
The population of the area, the nationalities, occupations and ages of the people should also be considered. Bunn said. To help in planning the move to power, the average rents for homes in the area, the average real estate taxes for homes, the number of telephones, the number of automobiles and the capita income should be known.
CHOOSING THE ACTUAL site for a business within an area may just be a matter of taking what is available. Bunn said.
However, if there is a choice of a building site, a check should be made on the competition, traffic and use of the building location, physical aspects of the building, type of lease and the amount, speed, cost and quality of the building.
A soft-frozen desert stand can be a profitable small business to start in the summer. Bunn said. Some soft-frozen desert stands are suitable for all seasonal basin in northern areas. Others operate all year in
THE PROSPECTIVE owner-manager should study the volume of sales and the volume of sales he can expect from his soft-serve stand, Bunn said. The competitive development often necessitates the serving of sandwiches and beverages to attract customers as as to increase volume and profit.
Some of the soft-serve stands are independently owned and some are franchized by one of several chains.
downtown areas or near resort areas in the South.
Bunn said the right location was a mumu stand the stand to was the ideal location for a soft-serve stand is one on a wall with an open footwaling traffic and a speed limit not over 25 to 30 miles per hour. Location on a corner near a street corner was safer.
The stand should be recognizable for a least a quarter of a mile in both directions of the highway to give customers time to decide how to floodlight at the essential for the same reason.
THE TRADE estimates a cost of at least $25,000 to build and equip a typical stand with two freezers.
a well-managed bookstore can also be a profitable business, Bunn said. The type of business has the biggest bearing on the amount of capital needed. For example, a college bookstore usually has the highest ratio of profit potential because it has the number of college students.
Class of '73 Accepting Committee Applications
The committees of the senior class of 1873 are now accepting candidates for the Kansas City, Mo. Susan Cowden, Kansas City, Mo. For the 1873 class, said Thursday
Applications for committees
According to Cowden, membership on most of the committees was unlimited because the committees needed as much manpower as they could get. She said that she probably would be put on a committee, although it might be their second choice.
can be obtained in the alumna
association office in the Kansas
Union, Cowden said. Although no
definite deadline had been set,
the school officials should be returned to the alumna
office the end of the semester.
Cowden said membership on the committees was open to all students of senior standing. The committees were selected last week.
If possible, a new bookstore should be in an area not already served or where companies will buy books on or near a college campus are more likely to be located in the best second-choice.
Things are beginning to happen at LAWRENCE SURPLUS WATCH FOR IT!
Heavy traffic areas are important as book buying is mostly done in person. People passing a bookstore will come into the store to browse. Browsing sells more books than shopping and it should be encouraged, he said. The store itself should be spacious enough to allow self-expression people pass.
Keep your eyes on
BY UNDERSTANDING his trade area, the owner-manager should be able to stock the types of books most likely to sell. For
LAWRENCE SURPLUS
Your Headquarters for LEVI'S
instance, today's every-changing development in such fields as technology, automation, computerization and economic forecasting is creating a flood of business publications. The volume of these packs of value to the retailers in his business community.
Bunn said a hobby shop should be situated in a high traffic area. Some do well downtown, others in lower income neighborhoods shopping centers. The latter may be a hobby and craft "island" of the city where the shopping center's parking lot is.
Capital requirements for a
baby shop are estimated at a
much smaller stock and six
stock and six months' operating
expenses for a small shop
A DESIRABLE FORMAL education for a person starting a men's and boys' wear store would be a partnership combined with liberal arts training, then many business new specialized retailing curriculum, he said. Instead, marketing, accounting and other business skills must be acquired
The initial amount of money invested in a men's and boys wear store should be minimal
Bunn said, because if the store is unsuccessful, chances are the entire amount will be lost. A store anticipating first year gross sales of $100,000 at retail should and should not account of about $30,000 at cost.
A block with several men's wear stores draws many more customers to the block with only one store, Bunn said. Many stores located on sidewalks and other pedestrian traffic ways are successful because of unique service and customer experience.
Pope Grants Award to Prof
Sesto Prete, professor of classics and classical archaeology, has been appointed Commendator of the Order of St. Gregory the Great for his work in classical and Renaissance studies.
Prete was nominated by Carlo Colombo, president of the Toniio Foundation and the University of New York at Clinton. He awarded the award by Pope Paul.
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