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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 15 years ago by clementine in category Business.

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1.

Opening a restaurant

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 15 years ago by clementine -

2.

catering

17 points - added 15 years ago by clementine -

3.

Mary Kay

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 15 years ago by clementine -

4.

pet store

11 points - added 15 years ago by clementine -

5.

business consulting

8 points - added 15 years ago by clementine -

6.

dropshipping

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 15 years ago by clementine -

7.

luxury retail store

6 points - added 15 years ago by clementine -

8.

business coaching

5 points - added 15 years ago by clementine -

9.

social networking site

4 points - added 15 years ago by clementine -

10.

book store

3 points - added 15 years ago by clementine -

11.

big scale online retail

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 15 years ago by clementine -

12.

advertised "work from home" jobs

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 15 years ago by clementine -