SOWPub Small Business Forums

SOWPub Small Business Forums (http://www.sowpub.com/forum/index.php)
-   Original SOWPub Forum Archive (http://www.sowpub.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=3)
-   -   The Inc. 500... (http://www.sowpub.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5172)

Michael S. Winicki October 1, 2003 11:05 AM

The Inc. 500...
 
Yesterday I received my annual edition of the Inc. magazines fasted growing 500 privately held businesses in the U.S. And as usual there are a number of interesting tidbits that could interest those that visit this board.

One of the first things that grabbed me was the fact that fully 73% of the Inc. 500 were started with $100,000 or less. And a whopping 48% were started with $20,000 or less. That is an amazing figure but one that supports what I tell the beginning entrepreneurs I work with, which is basically the better the concept the less money you need to drive it. I've seen that happen time and time again. The bottom line is crummy concepts go through money faster than Godzilla through Tokyo. Good concepts are quite often profitable from day 1. That doesn't mean an entrepreneur is collecting a paycheck from the get-go but it does mean the basic expenses are at least being met.

Only 18% of the Inc. 500 target consumers as their prime customer. 67% target businesses large & small (large 37%, small 30%). 14% target government agencies key point here! Most of you don't realize how much the government buys--the government buys almost everything we buy as consumers. This is a good growth area that most businesses never consider getting involved in. And 1% of the Inc. 500 target non-profits.

And how did most of the Inc. 500 get funded? Not how most would think. Only 16% were funded by banks, VC's, and the SBA, the rest were funded by using personal assets, assets of family and friends or financing from suppliers. While they did not disclose a figure for how many used credit cards... I'm willing to bet the number is substantial, since they listed those using personal assets to fund their business at 53%, and the credit card thing would have been within that category.

A couple areas of industry weren't represented such as media companies. There were no media businesses listed.

There were also very few pure Internet plays i.e. ecommerce businesses. I think I only counted 1. But that doesn't mean hi-tech wasn't represented. There were several that dealt with software and telecommunications.

Marketing & advertising agencies were well represented as were the health sector, human resources, education and companies that dealt with financial issues.

Anyway I look forward to your comments on these topics (if there are any).

Take care,

Mike Winicki


How one person learned the secret of being able to retire early!

Linda October 2, 2003 01:06 AM

Business skills make a huge difference. : )
 
Hi Michael;

> The bottom line
> is crummy concepts go through money faster
> than Godzilla through Tokyo.

I'd actually rephrase that a little to say that crummy spending decisions will go through money faster than Godzilla through Tokyo.

Foolish spending and burning money is usually a result of bad judment on the part of the spender and is VERY often seen in regard to good products/services/concepts, too - not just bad ones. : )

> Good concepts
> are quite often profitable from day 1.

Only if the person knows what they are doing.

Susie might make the best diapers for babies with allergies in the whole world, but if she's not putting her ads in front of the mommies with highly allergic babies, it doesn't much matter.

Now - if she gets them in front of the right moms, she'll make a mint.

I don't know if you read Andy Bourland's I-Sales, but there was a great post today in an ongoing thread. It said;


Now that the web has given millions of people the
opportunity to sell stuff to a world wide audience, they try their hardest to do so. Some are pros who can sell anything, and some should probably get a job at Burger King (I like Burger King BTW). The web has created millions of businesses, but not enough real business people.



I agree with that statement about 200%.
Learning business skills is an essential ingredient and is just as important as the viability of the product/service or concept.

If you don't get I-Sales, you can check it out at http://www.MarketingWonk.com. : )

: )
Linda


All times are GMT -4. The time now is 04:36 AM.

Powered by vBulletin Version 3.6.0
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.