Though most of the larger companies which pay good salaries are located only in larger cities, there are a number of disadvantages of living in larger cities like higher pollution levels, higher rentals, time spent commuting daily and lack of social network. Large cities offer a lot of opportunities for younger people at the beginning of their career, however due to the pyramidical corporate structure, increasingly older people who went to cities for jobs in their youth are preferring to relocate to small towns and avail of the various options for starting a business and making money which are discussed in great detail in this article.
Though larger metro and other cities offer a large customer base, allowing a business to break even in a shorter period of time, and make more profit, there is also a lot of competition and sometimes paranoid security agencies may make life difficult for individuals who do not have a large social network. Many large organizations do not wish to keep a large number of large number of mid level managers on their payroll and offer voluntary retirement schemes to reduce their monthly payroll. For a better quality of life, many of these retired people and other middle aged individuals may move to smaller towns where they were born and educated.
As the job opportunities with a monthly salary are even more limited in a small town, many older people with some savings prefer to start their own business, offering a product or service for the residents of the town. While there are some problems faced in a smaller town like limited customer base, lower spending power and difficulty in finding honest qualified staff with a professional attitude towards work, there are a few advantages like lower rentals for offices and shops, less competition and less money to be spent on advertising to increase awareness levels.
Hence it is important to properly research the niche of the business , the existing demand and competition before deciding to invest money in starting a particular business in a small town. Though there are few large companies headquartered in small towns, many large companies like banks, insurance, finance, telecom companies have branch offices and their employees along with government employees get a regular monthly salary which they spend on essentials like food, travel, clothes, housing, repairs, hobbies, home decor, healthcare and personal grooming. These employees will also be looking for safe investment options for financial emergencies and old age.
Food related services like pizza and other fast food restaurants are always assured of regular customers if they offer quality food at a reasonable price. Most people prefer to get their expensive accessories like footwear, handbags, umbrellas repaired instead of purchasing new items, so a well equipped, shoe, footwear, bag repair shop will always be in demand. Most people, offices and businesses use mobile phones,computers, copiers and other electronics extensively and these expensive items are likely to require repairs over a period of time. So starting a repair shop, can be a good business option, along with offering second hand or refurbished electronic items. Marketing agencies who help selling food, home decor and other home made items online and offline in the small town and surrounding areas can also do a lot of business,especially if there a large number of tourists. So for a person interested in making money in a small town, there are a large number of options available depending on the location of the town.