By Shari Lifland
Thinking of starting your own business? According
to the latest data from Bizstats.com in Washington, D.C., you may want
to eschew livestock breeding, mail order, and vending machine operations
– they offer practically no chance of turning a profit.
Bizstats.com started with the premise that one measure
of risk is to compare relative percentages of profitable and loss businesses
in a given industry. They used sole proprietorship data since net income
or loss is not affected by owners' compensation.
Bizstats complied profit and loss information on 143
different types of business and came up with some interesting results:
Surveyors (# 1) came out on top, Catalog & Mail Order Sales Operations
(# 143) came in last. Antiques (# 137) and Gift Shops (# 138) may
seem interesting, but they don’t offer much hope for profitability.
Better to consider dentistry (#7) or funeral services (#9).
The Top 10 Safest Businesses:
- Surveying services (only 1% have net losses)
- Water transportation - contract pilots
- Bus & limo transportation - contract drivers
- Optometrists
- Other highway passenger transportation
- Fuel oil dealers
- Dentists
- Textile mill products
- Funeral services
- Painting & paperhanging contractors
The 10 Riskiest Businesses:
- Hobby, toy & game shops
- Boat dealers
- Food & kindred products
- Used merchandise & antique stores
- Gift, novelty & souvenir shops
- Women’s ready-to-wear stores
- Bookstores
- Vending machine operations
- Livestock breeding
- Catalog & Mail Order Operations (82% have
net losses)
Click below for the complete list of 143 businesses:
http://www.bizstats.com/sprisk.htm
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