Are there ethical issues with moving into a small town as a small business, running up against a couple of other small independent established family run businesses when there’s, in all likelihood, not a large enough market to support all of you?

No

EDIT: Yes, of course there are. The real question is around how they align with your own.

Are you palnning to open a business in a small town?

Are you palnning to open a business in a small town?

Possibly.

Ethical, no. Financial, yes.

Why would you?

If you are asking the question I would suggest that perhaps you may be a bit too squeamish for business.

Who do youthink the locals will suppport? While you may find it ethically acceptable with no room in the market is there much point?

Are you sure you’re cut out for this? You are familiar with the basic concepts of capitalism?

How will you feel when you’ve metaphorically ground their faces into the dirt? How will you feelonce you’ve bankrupted them, standing heartlessly by as their crying children watch the bailiffs cart the last of their belongings from their repossessed former home?

Hang on a minute…. are you the managing director of Tesco?

lol at binners

Who do youthink the locals will suppport?

It depends if the other businesses are any good. I was happy to see the back of some of the small cafes in Cardiff when Starbucks moved in, cos they were crap.

How will you feelonce you’ve bankrupted them

Will that be his fault for moving in, or the original businesses for not being good enough?

There’s nothing ethically wrong with it but probably not a good business decision.

There’s nothing ethically wrong with it but probably not a good business decision.

If the OP can do take market share from the existing businesses, then it will be a good decision. I assume he/she can offer something cheaper/better that could achieve this.

The business is something that I’ve done before, and done well, if I say so myself. 🙂

The ethics bit is that we’ve got the money to do this without going to the bank, we’ve no need for an income from it at this time (it’d be a long term project).
As usual, binners has summed it up.

Who do youthink the locals will suppport? While you may find it ethically acceptable with no room in the market is there much point?

Myself, hopefully, for the usual reason- I think I can do this better for the consumer than the competition does.

It also depends on what the business is and how it will earn it’s money. Is the site in the small town the only source of revenue or is there the potential to sell it’s product/service online?

It can be a great business decision depending on the circumstances.

If there is enough demand for a your service in the area to make your business a success, but they are currently getting that service elsewhere, even though it’s a poor service, purely due to lack of choice.

Isn’t that the capitalistic princliple of survival of the fittest? If you cant see off a challenge then you are left eating the scraps?

Either that or its the Lemming principle, you put them out of business by undercutting them, but in the process bankrupt yourself with an unsustainable business model.

Are you a lion or lemming? Only time will tell….

depends how you go about it really

someone tried it once with someone i know already existing. trying to come in and sign suppliers up to cut supplies to existing business promising the world for exclusivity

reality ….for being a cock it didnt earn much respect – both businesses still there and original doing very well-maybe even better as a result of the newcomer bringing in more customers to the area.

the orignal did adjust business model and go down a specialist store route rather a jack of all

so dont think that barging in and playing hardball will win you all the custom and sales in the area. folk in small towns tend to be very loyal especially if your an outsider unless your cutting your own feet with prices – money makes the world go round.

TandemJeremy – Member
Who do youthink the locals will suppport? While you may find it ethically acceptable with no room in the market is there much point?

TJ I would have agreed with you until three months ago. We used to have one butcher in town. A proper old fashioned, dull-as-they-come butcher. In addition we have the obligatory tescos and sainsburys. Never seen more than one person in the old butchers.

Three months ago a new butchers opened. Shop is probably a bit smaller and is definitely in a better location, but he is still a pretty traditional butchers shop selling meat, sausages etc… …he’s mobbed with people literally queing out the door even when it is raining on a Saturday. Other that the fact that his staff are nice and his produce is good I can’t explain it.

If someone had suggested opening another butcher I’d have said just set fire to your money – it will be quicker and keep you warm. Sometimes the market seems to be just waiting for some fresh blood and some competition. A differentiator would be good but it could be as simple as good service.

Poly – hence why I used questions

Sometimes the market seems to be just waiting for some fresh blood and some competition

This

he’s mobbed with people literally queing out the door even when it is raining on a Saturday. Other that the fact that his staff are nice and his produce is good I can’t explain it.

He must have some of the special stuff