Widen scope of "Startup Business" to "Small Business"?

Question

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Proposal: Startup Business

The old Startup Business was closed down due to insufficient questions. To give the new proposal a better chance of survival, I would propose to widen the scope a bit and create a general "small business management" stackexchange. Because all startups start small, any question which would be on-topic on Startup would also be on-topic on Small Business. However, any questions about managing established small businesses would also be on-topic.

Anyone who manages a successful small business can likely provide insight on many topics which concern startup owners. On the other hand, the fresh perspective of startup owners could be insightful for established business owners who search for ways to innovate their business strategy.

Answer 1

+1 Good idea. But I think it was how the OnStartups(+) site was practically used.

It's similar to the Freelancers, which are also for small enterpreneurs, those who are not hiring people and are selling their own services. Small Business would concentrate on small enterpreneurs, who do sell some goodies (like small puzzle shop in oldtown) or/and are hiring a few people (little software company, for example).

Answer 2

Broaden it but only slightly: Businesses searching for a scalable repeatable business model.

That gets at the core of what I think a lot of people mean by "startup", which has less to do with general operation and more to do with handling lots of uknowns (what do the customers want? Will they buy it? Can we deliver it?)

It broadens the scope a bit while still keeping a clear focus. It expands it beyond "2 guys in a garage" but could still include Apple inventing the iPad. It lets us cover more ground without lessening the focus.

Reasoning

I am a bit concerned that "Small business" might be overly broad.

The SBA definition of "Small Business" is < 500 employees. That's 99% of all businesses. That would conceivably cover Accounting, Taxes, Marketing, Sales, HR, etc. for all of those businesses.

Here is the Wikipedia definition of Startup:

A startup company or startup is a company, a partnership or temporary organization designed to search for a repeatable and scalable business model.[1] These companies, generally newly created, are in a phase of development and research for markets. The term became popular internationally during the dot-com bubble when a great number of dot-com companies were founded.

Answer 3

Have to agree with Clay here to broaden only slightly. A startup business by definition is certainly a more attractive place to be on.

I do think that marketing, sales, accounting and HR will come into play regardless but more from a perspective of what model's to use, such as product price / scalability, financial models, team structures, etc.

Trying to keep questions such as what % in tax in Washington do I need to pay for XYZ, out would be good.

Business Development could be another term added to the definition. This allows for people who have a scalable business model and are now looking to expand it further.