When you want to start a business, the amount of capital that you have will determine the kind of business you will be able to operate.
This is because most times when individuals are interested in operating a business they look at their financial resources first, before they can be sure that what they want to do will succeed.
That is what makes the difference between a small and a very small business.
When you start a very small business you require very little capital or less than is normally needed to start a business.
This is the type of business that you will find in your local neighborhood.
Examples are kiosks, vegetable vendors, shoe repairs, watch repairs etc.
This is the kind of business that has five or fewer employees.
They normally do not have employees other than the self-employed owner.
This owner is the sole decision maker, salesperson, marketer, cashier, accountant etc all wrapped in one.
It is often an unregistered type of business.
Sometimes very small businesses are home based.
Most of these types of businesses start at home and eventually grow.
The owners get to save on rent and are still able to make some sort of living.
They mostly market their products or services through word-of-mouth as it may be too expensive to market and advertise.
They have to rely on this for them to attract more customers.
Access to loans in this sector is tough.
They may be able to get some funding from micro lending institutions.
Majority of the entrepreneurs in very small businesses are minorities, women, recent immigrants etc.
If you own a very small business you should not give up as these have been known to grow into big businesses.