In a period where small businesses have suffered over the past two years because of the economic downturn, starting a business has not been easy. Yet, there are those who will take risks. One such person is retiree Gerald Elgin, 74, owner of Susru-Chegin Company Ltd, a company which was registered last November. Elgin, a former insurance agent, decided to start his own business because he wanted extra sources of income. "I'm a retired insurance agent and I like cars, so I decided to get into selling high-performance filters and filter oil, although breaking into the market for selling products for cars is not easy and it is competitive."
Elgin started off with his own funds.
"My business is under one year and I started off with an initial investment of $20,000. In fact, it's just over a month since I imported my first stocks." Elgin said he does not yet have a store, so he takes orders over the phone and delivers to the client in person. "Right now, I'm on my own. I don't have any employees as yet. I'm still young in the business. I'm now trying to break into the market. I sell one type of filter at $130 and another type at $145. As for the filter oil, I sell it at $115."
One challenge facing Elgin is marketing.
"There are some people who are using the Internet to market themselves and their products. I don't have a Web site or anything like that as yet, but I want to use that as one way of marketing." He said although he started off using personal funds to finance his business, small business owners like himself always find it difficult to access loans from financial institutions. "It's not easy for small business owners to get loans. The banks and these financial institutions want collateral. It's always a challenge for small business owners to get credit to start businesses, although now we have other sources like credit unions."
Another challenge is being accepted in a new market.
"Acceptance in the market is always a challenge and it is an important factor. Some people will buy your product, others will refer you to other customers, yet others will tell you to hold on. "Other big businessmen have storefronts to showcase their goods, but at my stage, I'm still going around by word-of-mouth." Elgin appealed to the Government to assist small business owners by reducing the amount taxes they have to pay.
"There should be a little more encouragement for start-ups from the Government. We small business people don't have huge amounts of capital. There should be concessions in terms of lighter taxes for small businesses." Elgin is grateful for the training he underwent in the issues involved in managing your own operation. "I did training last August with the Small Enterprises Business Association last year in business practices, so that helped me a lot. Training is always useful for people wanting to get into business. So far, business is picking up for me. So far, so good."
To contact Gerald Elgin, call:
477-7907.