3 ms·

I don't have an opinion on this in either direction, but i'm curious: how do you define a small business, and do inefficient/wasteful small businesses get selec

by dylz 6y ago

I don't have an opinion on this in either direction, but i'm curious: how do you define a small business, and do inefficient/wasteful small businesses get selectively 'bailed out' compared to national ones? Why should small businesses not have to foot the bill while large ones do? Just because they are small, they don't have to be competitive or efficient - do not-profitable hobby businesses get propped up for no reason other than they are small? Many chains and non-small businesses have also been known to split off (for example, an incorporation per chain location, franchise location, or per physical building) - then that one national fast food chain or REIT building is now a "small business" with only a few employees?

leetcrew 6y ago
locally owned businesses are arguably better for a community because the owner is more likely to recirculate their profits back through the local economy. the profits from a walmart location are ultimately captured by the shareholders, who may be disproportionately concentrated in some far-away place. of course, this can be outweighed if the large corporation serves the community much more efficiently than the smaller competition. subjectively, I find it a lot more pleasant to deal with local businesses. on the rare occasion I go to starbucks, I grab my coffee and leave immediately, but I would be happy to spend a few hours reading in any of the nearby independent coffee shops.
- dylz 6y ago
  > I would be happy to spend a few hours reading in any of the nearby independent coffee shops. Would this not be worse for independent coffee shops since you're taking up a seat to read, while the people that work employed by Starbucks couldn't possibly care less what you were doing? To me it seems like it would be a bit 50/50 based on industry vertical. I'm happy to support a reasonable independent restaurant over a fast food chain any time, but things like computer/parts shops, any independent one I see has markups well into the hundreds of percents at times, all seem incredibly shady, etc. Same with 'authorized retailer' phone shops that try to charge you $50-60 for a SIM.
  - leetcrew 6y ago
    > Would this not be worse for independent coffee shops since you're taking up a seat to read, while the people that work employed by Starbucks couldn't possibly care less what you were doing? this was just the first example I could think of for a type of business where the independently owned ones are more pleasant, but good question. my guess is that independent coffee places understand that being a pleasant place to hang out is a large part of their value-add and price it in appropriately, but who knows? I certainly agree there are some types of businesses where I don't really care. if I want to buy a stick of RAM in person, I want it today and I want to pay a competitive price. unless the employees are outright rude, there's not much they can do to improve or harm my experience.

by dylz 6y ago

leetcrew 6y ago

locally owned businesses are arguably better for a community because the owner is more likely to recirculate their profits back through the local economy. the profits from a walmart location are ultimately captured by the shareholders, who may be disproportionately concentrated in some far-away place. of course, this can be outweighed if the large corporation serves the community much more efficiently than the smaller competition. subjectively, I find it a lot more pleasant to deal with local businesses. on the rare occasion I go to starbucks, I grab my coffee and leave immediately, but I would be happy to spend a few hours reading in any of the nearby independent coffee shops.

dylz 6y ago
> I would be happy to spend a few hours reading in any of the nearby independent coffee shops. Would this not be worse for independent coffee shops since you're taking up a seat to read, while the people that work employed by Starbucks couldn't possibly care less what you were doing? To me it seems like it would be a bit 50/50 based on industry vertical. I'm happy to support a reasonable independent restaurant over a fast food chain any time, but things like computer/parts shops, any independent one I see has markups well into the hundreds of percents at times, all seem incredibly shady, etc. Same with 'authorized retailer' phone shops that try to charge you $50-60 for a SIM.
- leetcrew 6y ago
  > Would this not be worse for independent coffee shops since you're taking up a seat to read, while the people that work employed by Starbucks couldn't possibly care less what you were doing? this was just the first example I could think of for a type of business where the independently owned ones are more pleasant, but good question. my guess is that independent coffee places understand that being a pleasant place to hang out is a large part of their value-add and price it in appropriately, but who knows? I certainly agree there are some types of businesses where I don't really care. if I want to buy a stick of RAM in person, I want it today and I want to pay a competitive price. unless the employees are outright rude, there's not much they can do to improve or harm my experience.