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Worst small businesses

20 items ranked

These businesses require a big investment, and often fail. Be wary when considering a startup from this list.

Rated 3 points - posted 14 years ago by clementine in category Business.
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1.

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Opening a restaurant Report Abuse
Huge investment of money and time, with little or no return for the first few years...and your "inventory" is perishable! No matter how good of a cook you are, you won't be able to pull this one off without big cash reserves and killer management skills.
22 points - added 14 years ago by clementine -

2.

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catering Report Abuse
17 points - added 14 years ago by clementine -

3.

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Mary Kay Report Abuse
While you hear of the "success" stories of the ladies who get a pink cadillac....you don't often hear about the other 95% of Mary Kay sellers, who end up with leftover inventory and huge sales goals that must be met each month....
13 points - added 14 years ago by clementine -

4.

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pet store Report Abuse
11 points - added 14 years ago by clementine -

5.

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business consulting Report Abuse
8 points - added 14 years ago by clementine -

6.

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dropshipping Report Abuse
When you sell an item, you have to wait for someone else to ship it. If they don't or if they are delayed, your business will suffer. You often won't see or have access to the actual product you are selling, and won't be able to speak about it personally.
7 points - added 14 years ago by clementine -

7.

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luxury retail store Report Abuse
6 points - added 14 years ago by clementine -

8.

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business coaching Report Abuse
5 points - added 14 years ago by clementine -

9.

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social networking site Report Abuse
4 points - added 14 years ago by clementine -

10.

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book store Report Abuse
3 points - added 14 years ago by clementine -

11.

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big scale online retail Report Abuse
ebay and etsy are great for earning income, but launching a huge webstore takes a big commitment--start small instead, and minimize your risk.
3 points - added 14 years ago by clementine -

12.

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advertised "work from home" jobs Report Abuse
While legitimate work from home jobs do exist (data entry, virtual assistant, etc), they are generally not advertised or awarded through one of these "work from home" sites. Check out a reputable site like elance or guru if you want to offer your services, and set your own rates. Never pay a fee to work from home!
1 point - added 14 years ago by clementine -

13.

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coffee shop Report Abuse
0 points - added 14 years ago by clementine -

14.

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high end kids boutique Report Abuse
0 points - added 14 years ago by clementine -

15.

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jewelry store Report Abuse
0 points - added 14 years ago by clementine -

16.

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buying and selling real estate Report Abuse
0 points - added 14 years ago by clementine -

17.

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buying (some) existing businesses Report Abuse
0 points - added 14 years ago by clementine -

18.

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buying a franchise Report Abuse
0 points - added 14 years ago by clementine -

19.

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Multilevel marketing Report Abuse
In general, multilevel marketing programs make money on recruiting and promotion, not on selling actual products. If you are considering one of these be aware that you may have to pay to become involved, and you may not ever actually earn any income. Some people do succeed, but most don't.
-1 point - added 14 years ago by clementine -

20.

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"flipping" houses Report Abuse
-2 points - added 14 years ago by clementine -
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