Interesting Things I’ve Learned from Interviewing Small Business Owners

Interviewing small business owners has become the heart of my blog, and it’s easy to see why.
(Photo by Aathif Aarifeen on Pixabay)

I have been conducting interviews with small business owners for over five years, now. While the format has changed a bit since 2018, the purpose has always remained the same. I wanted to give business owners a place to share their experiences with other business owners.

I have been a small business owner for many years myself. One of the things I saw very quickly is that there really isn’t an easy way to learn how to do things. Sure, we can return to college and learn this, but that means postponing the ownership dream for several more years. Most of us just jump into it, often as a side hustle that grows over time, or as a completely new career direction.

For the majority of us, building a business happens without a manual. So, I decided to start asking those who know a thing or two about running a business: successful business owners. After a short while, I came to realize that this information might be useful to others, so I started blogging about it and that is how Business Owner Stories was born.

Over the years, some interesting details and trends have come to light. Rather than keep them to myself, I thought that I would share these with you below. This should be interesting to current business owners, but perhaps also to those who are thinking about starting their own businesses soon.

About 1/3 of Small Business Owners Have Quit

I know. This number shocked me too. Actually, the number is higher than 1/3 because many also return to what they were doing before, leaving their business in limbo. I’d like to say this is because of the pandemic, but the numbers were not too different before COVID-19.

I think this is just the nature of being a small business owner. It’s not easy and it’s not for everyone. When times get tough, it may seem safe to return to a previous job or to go back to school. After all, the bills need to be paid.

Yes, Some Become Millionaires

Now I know that a million isn’t what it used to be, but it’s still a lot of money. I’m not just talking about having a business that generates a million dollars in sales, I’m talking about really becoming that wealthy as a result.

You might also think that becoming a millionaire is just for those with engineering degrees and who invent something truly useful. It is also possible for people who develop and distribute branded products widely, or even artists. Yes, even artists can become millionaires.

Here’s the one caveat: an overnight success takes about a decade. It also benefits from very hard work, partnering with someone, hiring capable help, and investing the earnings, preferably back into the business. I think the one takeaway that I can say about this is that none of the people who became wealthy did it on their own.

AI Is a Major Disruptor for Small Businesses

You might think, what does Artificial Intelligence have to do with my small business? Well, I can tell you that many small business owners have found that the services they provide have been completely altered by AI. This is especially true for people who work with words and pictures such as artists, translators, photographers, programmers, content creators, etc.

However, AI is also fundamentally changing online shopping. It is making the process more intuitive, more efficient, and more integrated with other services. So, for example, if you have an online shop, then you will need to buy into the extras that Amazon, Shopify, eBay, and Etsy charge extra for. Those who don’t will typically see their sales figures drop.

Another area where AI will impact small business owners is in protecting their content. Most AI technologies source their information from images and text found on the internet. Unless your images, designs, marketing materials, and logos are behind a paywall, then it is likely already incorporated into an AI engine somewhere. The legality of this may change over time, but that is the current reality.

Over Half of Small Business Owners Face Legal Challenges

One area where many small businesses struggle is in addressing legal issues that come up. If your business sells skin-care products or produces food and drinks, this is a very real risk. There are many requirements, regulations, and licenses to have when selling such products, and you should not neglect those.

You should also be properly insured. Many small business owners try to work around being well insured, especially as insurance premiums have risen lately, but this puts your business at great risk. If you hire people, don’t forget about worker’s compensation insurance, it is required in California.

Many solo business owners like artists, content creators, and photographers believe their business is insulated from these requirements. Well, that wasn’t the case for the owner who received a copyright claim about an image she used on a blog post years ago. Another business owner received an Americans with Disabilities complaint about their online store not being compliant with existing laws.

Speaking of which, everyone should have their website’s policies and procedures (the small print stuff tucked at the bottom), reviewed by a capable editor with legal experience doing this. Not every situation requires the immediate involvement of a lawyer, but never ignore legal challenges and respond to them promptly.

The Most Common Reason Given for Starting a Business

For people who switched from a 9-5 career job, having the freedom – to set their own hours, set up their own work environment, and take time during the day with loved ones – is the main reason given. They also mention that it is bigger than that as well. It’s also about having control over all aspects of producing products and services, things that are usually allocated to different people in large companies.

From what I’ve found that isn’t the only freedom they are talking about. I think it is also about the freedom to be in control of one’s entire career, one’s destiny, if you will. When people work for someone else, there is this ever-present cloud that hangs over them. That cloud is often given the euphemism of “being a team player,” but it really takes the form of retraining, performance reviews, disciplinary actions, salary cuts, and of course, layoffs.

Those worries simply are not there for self-employed people. While it is still important to work hard and meet requirements, the only boss over you is yourself. Small business owners are uniquely disciplined and motivated. So go ahead and give yourself an excellent review… and why not a big bonus this year, too!

Business Owners Who Love Their Products Succeed

This is probably self-explanatory, but the business owners who struggle are often the ones who are selling products and services that they don’t believe in.

This is often the case with people who have an eBay or Amazon store and re-sell products that they don’t produce themselves. Not only do they have a harder time understanding the products, but as a result, they also struggle to understand their customers. This leads to lower sales, and sometimes even burn-out.

I find that this is also the case with people who search for products and services that their competitors sell. Building a business on products and services that someone else has success with does not guarantee your own success. They may have a thorough understanding of them, an understanding that you lack.

Business owners who love what they sell will sell more. This is because people will see that love and it turns them into customers. That, in turn, builds confidence in the business and it is what I see in successful owners. If you don’t love your products, why should your customers?

For Those Selling Tangible Products, a Pop-Up Booth Is the Best Way To Sell Them

Building an online store is easy, but it does not generate the kinds of revenue that in-person sales do. The issue here is being able to stand out. There are far too many online stores. Even those selling very niche products struggle to be noticed. Even when they do and succeed, then it’s bound to bring copy-cats.

Selling products from a pop-booth changes that dynamic. This is usually done at a fair or show, and the organizers try to ensure that there aren’t too many of the same products there. This means that you have more opportunity to stand out in front of people who made an effort to be there to see you.

When selling in person, you build a relationship with your customers. That relationship is built on trust about the product you are selling and that they are buying. It also creates the potential for generating repeat customers and word-of-mouth referrals to your products. Those personal referrals are far more potent than having a customer send a link to your online store to someone else they may not even know that well.

By the way, it is possible to generate significant income from a pop-up booth. I previously wrote an article on Pop-Up Booth Strategies and if you follow these you can have tremendous success. I’ve interviewed business owners who generated well over $50K in a single weekend with a pop-up booth. Imagine doing this for an entire Spring/Summer season, and you can see how becoming a millionaire is not out of reach.

Few Small Business Owners Are Computer-Savvy

I realize that I’m a bit biased in this observation because computers and networking were the basis of my previous career. That said, I am always stunned to hear that business owners see computers and the internet as a hurdle, often even an impediment to their success.

Business owners would like to focus on their products and services. If these don’t require a computer, then it’s understandable that they would have little time or regard for it. However, managing the business, from maintaining inventories to running payroll to managing online stores still requires a computer. So, you would think that computers matter, yet they seldom do.

More problematic is that taking computer work for granted poses a significant risk to the business. This risk can take many forms such as ransomware, data loss, identity theft, banking issues, internet access, and website downtime, just to name a few. This is one of the main reasons why my blog has a whole section (Small Biz Tech) discussing these very issues.

Yet, here’s the kicker: it’s the least popular section of my website. I suppose that’s logical. If they see computers as a hurdle and an impediment, then this section of the site isn’t going to wow them either. In any case, I’ll keep writing articles there, even if it’s just for reference. There’s a search bar to make it quick, in case you’re wondering.

Publicly, Politics and Social Issues Are Non-Issues

Now this always surprises me. There is so much talk in the media about the importance of green products, ensuring equal representation, and emphasizing body-positive products and services, that you would think that these issues would be more front and center with small businesses. They aren’t.

While I know many small business owners are passionate about these issues, they aren’t so quick to advertise this widely. When I ask them about it in an interview format, they only give vague answers. I’ve even pointed out to business owners who cater to a specific under-served demographic that their answer to this question is inconsistent with this goal. Some owners have actually asked me to skip the question entirely.

I should not ignore that as an older white cis male asking this question, it adds another dynamic to this topic as well. It’s quite possible that the question would be perceived very differently if someone else asked it. Even so, it is still odd that this is the one question that causes the most hesitation, even from other white male business owners.

One thing that I have noticed is that people I interview have become much more apprehensive in the last couple of years about expressing political, social, and environmental issues too publicly. From that, I can infer that there is a socio-political cloud over these issues that has grown darker in recent years.

Perhaps small business owners, even those whose products and services are tied more closely to these issues, feel more vulnerable than larger companies and corporations. Perhaps they feel that Nike, Coors, Disney, Target, and others have the market clout to better weather the social or political backlash for taking a stronger position on these issues.

Small businesses are certainly more vulnerable, and this is a factor. However, I do think this is something that could change for the better. No small business should feel like championing healthy, fair, and representative products/services might be a risk to their success. That is the opposite of freedom.

I’ve written several articles about this issue, and I feel very strongly about it. I hope that by continuing to write about it, I will do my part to help dissipate this cloud. I get the sense from the business owners I have interviewed that their ability to create, innovate, and prosper is unequivocally tied to being free to express their views.

Conclusion

I’ve learned many more things from interviewing small business owners over the years. These are just a few of the ones that stood out and were perhaps the most interesting. I know most of my readers are already business owners, and so this is for them.

That said, this is also for all those who are still just thinking about starting a business, those who are contemplating leaving a stable career, and those who are starting a business because of necessity. I hear you, and so do all the many business owners I have interviewed.

Like me, all these business owners were willing to share their experiences because they understand how important this is for others. Being a small business owner can feel like a very lonely endeavor. It doesn’t need to be and the Business Owner Stories blog is there to help everyone succeed.

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P.S. If you are a business owner and would also like to be interviewed, then send me an email at BizOwnerStories@gmail.com. Consequently, having your interview included on my blog is also a great opportunity for some free advertising for your business.