Agriculture

Other

Small Business Owner

Although I am in agriculture (specifically, horticulture), I am an e-commerce business until I have the capital to open a brick-and-mortar store. Having an online store is expensive. It shouldn't be but it is. For instance, look at Shopify and its prices. I am lucky and I know IT (was in IT in my career before I started this new business) so I could go the DIY route. But it's expensive. To get capital to begin a business, especially an online business, is hard. It's very hard to get a small business loan if you have no revenue to show. It is the same thing for grants. You have to show revenue in order to qualify for grants as well. So for a small business to begin, you either have to have your own working capital or you have to be in business for a year and show revenue. There are very few resources for new small businesses that want to begin.

Erica Ferdinand