Introduction
Small scale businesses are fast becoming a source of livelihood for many people. With diminishing employment opportunities, people are taking up the business option. This is an account of an interview with an entrepreneur named Sharon who together her husband, Mike operate a small scale business. Sharon and Mike operate a vibrant food market in Soquel. They sale a variety food stuffs which include; Fish, meat, poultry, cheese and wine. In the exclusive interview, Sharon reveals how the couple came up with the idea and developed the food market. She also gives an account of what they do exactly to keep the business running.
The interview
As the interview starts off, Sharon gives a brief history of their entrepreneurship life. She says that they initially owned and operated a cooking business in Los Altos, where they sold food at the farmers markets in Danville and Pleasant hill. They moved to Soquel because it reminded her of her home town, and here they started a fish market business. The business was named “The fish lady” a name she says seemed cool and everyone would remember easily. They chose their current site because the building looked like a boat to them and they liked it. According to Sharon, the original business only dealt with fish, the idea of a fish market was born out of combination of factors. “I am not a stranger to food and cooking I was born and brought up in Lafayette, Louisiana and I got exposed to seafood and shrimp business. My mum and dad were good at preparing see food in the south, they passed the secret to me and I believe it’s a natural gift from them. We do the smoking of fish and meat on our own,” she says. She adds that, when the business began many people had reservations about it and they told her that it was never going to work. The business has however grown through the years from a small fish market to a big market that provides a variety of food stuffs; poultry and beef were incorporated in 1995 and since then they have been able to add wine and cheese. She attributes the wine part to Mike, who she says has a passion for wine. The wine business is particularly good because they have an onsite tasting license. This enables them to keep the prices down and pass the saving to customers. You can actually get a bottle of wine there for $10 to $20. They also have great selections and every Friday a local vintner goes there to educate people about his wines. Sharon and Mike always sample their wine before selling it to customers to ensure maintenance of high quality standards.
She concludes by saying that their business has truly grown, although it is currently down as the people have preferred to stay at home with there family and friends and cook their own food. For a successful business, Sharon believes that you must take it to the people. She and Mike have a deep sense of community. They live and operate their business in the same locality and they highly recommend that to anyone who wants to start a business.
Conclusion
Conducting any business comes with a certain amount of risk but the benefits are many. People need to rise above the notion that “it’s not possible or it can’t work here” and indulge in entrepreneurship activities to improve the quality of their lives as shown to us by Sharon and Mike. This will effect reduce dependence on employment.