Small Business Success

Despite the worst economic climate since the great depression, young entrepreneur is expected to beat the odds.

The last three years have proven to be a trying time for many, not the least of which has been small business owners. ‘The Great Recession’, as it has been dubbed, has had its effects on everyone, no matter what socio-economic class they hail from. The U.S. has seen total job cut-backs in excess of 8 million, said President Barak Obama in a news conference held on Friday, September 10. Foreclosures have reached an all time high as well, with 2 million Americans going into foreclosure in 2008, 2.8 million in 2009, and even more are expected in 2010. In a recent article, “A better way to fix the US housing crisis” by Joseph Stiglitz, he stated that “more than 1.5 million Americans spent at least one night in a shelter during 2009”. Despite the constant reminders of doom and gloom small businesses still abound. According to the SBA over 620,000 new businesses opened their doors in 2008, the beginning of ‘The Great Recession”. It is a well-known fact that the greatest shift of wealth often times occur during economically trying times. Companies like CNN, MTV, Microsoft and even General Electric all opened their doors during historic recessions, and all have worked their way to the top of the corporate ladder.

Doom and gloom aside, Bret Larsen, owner of newly launched company Gourmet Orchards, is hopeful that this year will be a huge success. “I’m confident that despite the economy, Gourmet Orchards will thrive,” Larsen stated, when asked how he felt Gourmet Orchards would fair in the present economy.

Larsen, a self-proclaimed entrepreneur, has been building businesses since before he knew simple arithmetic. When asked what drove him to build businesses he said, “I started out selling vegetables out of my mom’s garden in the backyard, then moved to a candy stand out in front of my house. I’ve always loved building something from nothing. I’m pretty sure I succeeded so early on because my customers thought I was just a cute kid.” When the neighborhood kids caught on to the candy stand success, Larsen took his venture door-to-door, and when his ‘cuteness’ wore off he began offering other services such as pet sitting and lawn care.

Having done all of his homework, Larsen feels that all preliminary signs point to success. “We’ve done our forecasting, we’ve done our market testing, and we are confident that the company will do extremely well. We hope to give Harry and David a run for their money,” responded Larsen when questioned as to why he feels his newest venture will be such a success. In fact ‘extremely well’, as Larsen so eloquently put it, is a huge understatement. Initial market analysis indicates that the company could do well over a million dollars in sales in its first year of operation, a number that any small business owner would be happy to boast about.

Gourmet Orchards (www.gourmetorchards.com) was launched in September of 2010 and offers a variety of gourmet gift solutions, including gourmet nuts and seasonal Arizona citrus fruit from all over the United States.

– By Tclayperkins 
http://www.articlealley.com/article_1748955_15.html