Small retailing businesses in Glenorchy : some operational problems

The ultimate aim of this dissertation is an examination of some problems of small retailing businesses in the City of Glenorchy, part of the Hobart metropolitan area in Southern Tasmania. The study is not entirely comprehensive, nor possible to survey all small business problems in the region, because of shortage of time, size of Glenorchy municipality, diversity and number of small retailing businesses. It is tried instead to seek answers to two fundamental questions: (a) What are the most commonly encountered problems facing small business managers in the City of Glenorchy? (b) Are there appropriate advisory or counselling services provided by Government (Federal, State or Local)to assist private enterprise to become more viable in aiding overall regional social and economic development? This dissertation is divided into four chapters as follows: Chapter 1 of the thesis outlines the role and importance of small business in the Tasmanian economy. Chapter 2 identifies some operational problems of small business, as presented in literature about the field, then considers what advisory services (if any) are provided by government. Chapter 3 outlines some impressions gained by interview of small businessmen, financiers and others within Glenorchy, as to principal operational difficulties of small business. Chapter 4 briefly summarises some conclusions arising from this exploratory survey. Various appendices are included, providing details of the interviews and survey. Some attempts were made to obtain detailed statistics about the demography, employment patterns and number of small businesses in Glenorchy, but this did not prove particularly fruitful, in part because accurate records were unobtainable, but also because the methodology of investigation deliberately sought the impressions of entrepreneurs themselves. This is certainly a limitation of the study, nonetheless little literature exists about small business in Tasmania, so even an exploratory survey may prove beneficial.