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Every economy needs entrepreneurial skills to fully exploit its human resources and prosper. During the times of down-sizing and recession when everyone in big companies is running around like headless chickens, do small businesses really make a difference in an economy? Lets ponder over this thought.

Did you know? The Bank of America was initially established as a small business and has grown to its glorious position as a corporate giant. There are an estimated 29.2 million small business enterprises in America. As inconspicuous as they may seem, small businesses are vital to bring innovation and drive competition in an economy. They increase national GDP (gross domestic product). Clients now have more trust in small businesses than they do in larger companies. Small businesses have successfully developed a sense of trust and security in people around them. Irrespective of the fact that they do not generate turnovers in millions, small businesses provide sustainability to the economy. They are easy to manage, very flexible and easily adapt to economic changes.

Creating More Employment: Although a small business may typically employ around five hundred people, they help generate employment opportunities. While multinational corporates focus on recruiting people with laudable educational qualifications, small businesses hire people even with most unimpressive resumes along with providing training and development. In the American economy, small businesses have alone provided employment to almost half of those engaged in the private sector. If you were to compare the total number of people employed by all small business firms as compared to big businesses, you will observe that percentage of employment generated by small businesses is higher. This is evident in the fact that annually, small businesses have generated more than 60% of total new employment opportunities in the U.S. economy in the last ten years. Also, these jobs are created at a faster pace too because many small businesses are more inclined towards increasing than work force, while big corporates concentrate on wealth generation through higher investments. During periods of lay-offs prevailing in the entire economy, the number of small-business start-ups will go up even though big corporates will downsize. The banks will fund these new businesses and stimulate the velocity of money.

Small Businesses are the Backbone of Our Economy: The oft repeated statement “small businesses are the backbone of our economy” stands true in modern-day economies. Although many small businesses in the economy may depend on outsourcing by larger companies, if they did not exist, so wouldn’t the big businesses. While, small businesses create more products and services, they also help circulate money in the economy quickly. Small businesses are also more enthusiastic and willing to create strong customer relationships and reliability amongst the employees. They work at the micro-level of economics and create a base for the macro-economic stage through the multiplier effect. They cater not only to households directly but also aid multinationals with their products and services. However, many huge clients are now turning to small businesses to contract financially significant projects fascinated with the friendly and reliable work environment. Also, the scope for growth of innovation for an employee is much higher when employed by a small business, evident statistically that they generate 13 times more patents per employee than any large patenting enterprise.

Thus, small business are important to the economy because they encourage growth and development. In fact, during times of recession, the turnover of small businesses is least affected. You wouldn’t expect a small business to quickly downsize and cut back on its workforce in a depressive economy. If you have been gloomy about not being able to find a job, exploit your skills and interests and learn how to start a small business from your fellow small business entrepreneurs, 53% of whom run a home-based business and need very low investment. Small is the way to go.

It is said that making money during recession is quite difficult. However, there are some ways to earn a reasonable amount of money in such times. Let’s have a look at them.

Recession is the time when the economy slows down and the growth of a country begins to decline. During this phase, businesses suffer huge losses, employees lose their jobs and the spending capacity of people is reduced. The thought of recession instills worry and people think, it is very difficult to survive during a recession. What happens when we have a recession? People start spending less and save money which was otherwise spent lavishly, businesses cut down extra and unnecessary costs, people look for value for money, and companies are more inclined towards maintenance than expansion. It is true that the spending capacity is reduced, but people do spend money. Now what they look for is competitive pricing, low maintenance and value. People think that making money during economic recession is not possible, but there is always a way out.

Let’s see how to make money during recession in not-so-challenging ways

Ways to Make Money During Recession
• Beauty, repair and consultancy services are some of the businesses to start in a recession. These services do not require huge investments and always have a market. Beginning with a small setup can fetch good returns and help in overcoming recession-related monetary stress.
• Your creative skills like photography and painting can fetch additional income for your expenditure. Investing a small amount in studio packages can help in taking pictures of individuals and families, for which a small fee can be charged by the customers.
• A small office can be set up to advise customers on tax laws and tax returns. A person having good knowledge about tax laws can start this business by simply investing in a desk, computer, calculator and tax return software.
• Garage sales can be another option for fetching money by selling unused items lying in the house. During extreme financial crunch, one can choose to sell costly items like DVD player, television, etc.
• If teaching is your passion, you can always conduct classes for teaching a new trade to people. Search for teaching locations wherein, people who run such locations share a certain percentage of registration fees with the teacher in exchange of lessons provided to community members.
• Some businesses maintain a steady state even during recession. Utility and law firms are examples of businesses which are not really affected. In fact, they need temporary workers to deal with increased cases of bankruptcy during these times. Finding a job in such firms will ensure a steady flow of income during recession.
• Skilled individuals in the field of painting and carpentry can offer their services at lower prices than established contractors in the business. As people try to save every bit of money during recession, your offer can fetch you lot of customers.
• Municipal bonds can be a source of income in tough times. People can withdraw their money from stocks and transfer them to municipal bonds, but before doing this, it is better to analyze whether it will fetch you good monthly and annual returns according to your budget or not.
• Blogging sites and other websites can also be a good source of income during recession. By placing advertisements intelligently on the websites, one can make a good amount of money through the virtual world.
• If you already have a website, it’s time to optimize it, so that search engines can locate it and attract prospective customers to visit the website. This increases the chances of sales thereby, adding to your income.
• If you are into a business, advertising your product or service becomes very important to gain customer attention. Customers must be constantly reminded of the availability of the product, only then, they can think of buying your product.
…End Note
Tough times call for tough measures. Even though recession makes money-making difficult, there is always a smart way to tackle tough situations. Therefore the next time you think of recession, you know how to find your way out.

Catering services is certainly one of the best businesses to start in 2012. Starting your own business is the best thing you can do if you do not want to worry about work timings and taking orders from superiors. Starting a business on a small scale does need a certain amount of capital and hard work at first, but after the business gestation period, it can become profitable consistently. There are some considerations to be taken in mind before planning for a business; like making a business plan, arranging for finances, hiring resources, and setting up other necessities. Let us take a look at some of the best businesses to start in 2012, which have a capability of generating a decent amount of income.

Top Businesses to Start in 2012
Catering Services: Starting a food catering service is undoubtedly one of the best small businesses to start. In order to set out with this kind of business, you need to do a simple market research regarding this niche in your locality. Check out other catering services in your neighborhood and find out what they are not offering, and understand how they work, and all about their functions and services. The start-up capital required for this small business opportunity is believed to be ranging from $500 to $1,000, but this again depends on whether you hire a facility or do the job at home. Also, you should have a long-term growth plan and deliver good service to your customers to gain competitive edge over the others.

Online Businesses: Due to the advent of Internet technology and almost every person having access to it, there are many different business opportunities that have come up to earn money using online resources. You simply need to have an Internet connection and understand the correct techniques of making money online. There are many online money making concepts such as article writing, affiliate marketing, blogging, online product selling, and many others. It is a good idea to design a website and include good informative content on it, which can be used for top rankings on websites and thus online advertising possibilities.

Automobile Towing and Car Maintenance: This is one of the best small businesses to start for men who want to earn an extra income. In order to get into this small business, you will need to have some resources such as the technical knowhow and the tools required for the job. You can hire a truck, start an automobile towing service, and if possible even start offering services for basic car maintenance. Those who want to start this business on a medium scale, will have to invest a good amount of money. Be it on a small or a large scale, it is suggested to adhere to the licensing requirements and other local formalities. Automobile towing and car maintenance is one of the most lucrative small businesses that is believed to never go out of demand.

Video Game Retail: In the list of top ten businesses to start, video game retail business also comes in a prominent slot. The video game industry is a billion dollar industry which is ever-growing with time and technology. Though you may need to invest a large amount initially for the stock and selling arrangements, the business would later start to generate regular income. For being successful in this business, make sure you provide the best customer service with products at an attractive price. Along with selling video games, you can even offer music, movies and other entertainment. You may also purchase arcade machines for letting customers play classic games.

Recruitment and Staffing Agencies: Owing to the employment slowdown, some might think that starting a recruitment firm at this time is not a very good idea. However, if you look from a different angle, this can actually be a very good business plan. As there are very few jobs in companies for full-timers, you can coordinate jobs for part-time employment. Some of the common jobs you can coordinate in include data-entry, consulting, technical projects, and so on. In order to succeed in this field, you need to establish a network in local companies and communities. As there is an increase in job demand in the economy, you can later deal in full-time jobs as well.

Yoga and Massage Centers: Due to a hectic lifestyle and busy schedules, most working professionals have to go through stress, depression, and other mental disorders. This is when meditation and physical exercise comes into practice. At present, it is believed that people are ready to spend thousands of dollars for yoga and massage purposes, despite reduction in earnings. You can take up a yoga training or massage course, and start you business. In addition, you can even put up a stall for yoga and massage therapy products for complementing your business. For example, you can offer herbal oils and yoga apparel, or any such product.

Real Estate: Real estate would definitely be a lucrative option for starting a business for multiple reasons. One reason being the consolidation of the real estate markets in the USA as well as other parts of the world. Since the prices of land and property keep on rising, one can be sure to earn a good profit in property dealings.

Computer Repair: This is probably one of the best businesses that you can choose if you have a liking to work with technology, especially computer hardware. There are many small courses that are available at technical institutes and colleges, which last for a few weeks or a couple of months. Since almost all people use computers nowadays, there is a wide scope for your business to be successful. The only condition is that you need to provide quality service and that too at a decent rate when compared to professional PC service centers. However, you need to keep yourself updated with the latest computer technologies introduced in the market to provide satisfactory service. Given below are some of the miscellaneous opportunities that you can think of:
• Landscaping services
• Student tutoring
• Driving schools
• Fashion designing
• Interior designing
• Wedding consulting and organizing
• Website designing
…End Note
These are some of the hottest businesses to start in 2012. There are many other business options that can generate good revenue. Be it for starting any kind of small or large business, make sure you consider the licensing requirements in your city or state.