A business that employs less than 500 people is considered a small business. Theses small businesses help to create numerous jobs for our country (How Small Businesses Affect Our Economy). Small Businesses seem to have contributed greatly to the success of our nations economy. Sometimes it is hard for these small businesses to survive when new Big Business chains come into the community that they are in. Although, in the case of the Westcott street area the business have thrived even thought the competition has come into the area around Erie Street.
Costa, the owner of the Dorian’s Pizza Gourmet Pizza and Deli on Westcott Street, has been in the business for a long time and has managed to survive even though the new Businesses have come into the area. Costa came to the United States from Greece a number of years ago. He came over from Greece because he didn’t want to work in the factories in Greece any longer. Costa felt that although he could make enough money to support himself buy working in the factories in Greece, but he didn’t think that he would be happy working in the factories, so he left to try to make a better life for himself in the United States. He decided to open a pizza place because it was something that he loved to do and he thought that he could make a good amount of money doing it. He was able to buy his shop at a low rate, so in the long run that has really helped him out because he doesn’t have all of those big loans like other business owners sometimes have. He says that he isn’t having the same volume of consumers visiting his pizza store since the new businesses have come into the area, but the quality of the consumers is extremely better. The consumers that are coming into his store now are loyal; he mentioned that he has some regular consumers that come to his store on a regular basis. In his mind, this is a good thing; he would rather have people coming into his store and spending money that he new, trusted, and had the same trust for him. He says that in order to have a small business and have it stay alive for a long time you really need to have your heart in it. He goes on to say that you can’t be after riches. In order to make your small business stay alive you need to be ok with just getting by. Costa makes enough to support his wife and children, but he does live an extravagant life. The fact that big businesses have come into the area is not the only thing that has effected his profits. Since he opened his business the cost of making the product and the cost of living has also increased, which has lowered his profits. This has also caused his business, as well as other small businesses on Westcott Street, like Alto Cinco, to have slightly higher prices than big business chains like Taco Bell. Although the small businesses sometimes have higher prices, there product seems to be a lot bigger and better.
The small businesses on Westcott Street also help out the economy of the local community in other ways. One of the major ways that they give back is by paying taxes. By having a business in the Westcott Street area, the storeowners are paying taxes to the government and those taxes that they pay go to supporting and developing the community around them (Colenso). Costa says that most of his employees come from around the Westcott Street Area. One of his employees said that she has lived in the Westcott Street community all of her life and wouldn’t want to live or work anyplace else. Hiring local people helps the economy of the community around the business because the money will stay local and go to making the community a better place. This will also help the business because the local people that are working in their shops will probably buy locally as well. Also, people in the community are more likely to shop at a store or restaurant that is closer to the place that they live. Consumers also seem to what to spend their money at a place that has a more personal feel. This feel is something that big business can’t really provided for the consumer, but it is something that small businesses have (The Wal-Mart Era-Not All Bad for Small Businesses). Costa mentioned that he knows a lot of his customers by name, that is something that is not possible with a store like Wal-Mart were thousands of people come into the store every year. It seems without the support of the community around them theses small businesses would not be able to make it. Costa, as well as the other small business owners and employees that we talked to on Westcott street fell that they have the community behind them.
A big business coming into the area that a small business is in is not always a bad thing. Sometimes a big Business coming into the area really helps the small business out. The new competition from the big business can sometimes make the small business try to be better and run a better business so that they can keep up with the new big business chain that has come into the area. Some big businesses, like Wal-Mart even help the small businesses try to survive. When Wal-Mart comes into the area, they show small businesses how to survive when a new Wal-Mart comes into the area. They will sometimes go as far as to help the small business financially, by giving them grants to help them stay afloat financially (The Wal-Mart Era-Not All Bad for Small Businesses). Researches have shown that even though these big businesses, like Wal-Mart, come into the area, they will have no real long-term effect on the United States economy. It seems that when these big businesses come into the area and a small business has to leave because of them it is not long before another small business comes into the area to take its place and manages to somehow strive financially (The Wal-Mart Era-Not All Bad for Small Businesses).
New York State is working to keep local businesses alive and running smoothly. When Governor David Paterson came to talk to local businesses in Syracuse on April 22, he talked about some of his plans about boosting the local economy and local businesses. He says that one of the major economic problems that is going on right now, in Syracuse, as well as the rest of the state is that people and business are leaving the state to find work elsewhere (Tampone). He plans on trying to fix this during his time in office and want to make the entire state of New York more friendly to local business and local people. He has proposed a 700 million dollar Upstate Revitalization Fund, which will help fund various economic-development projects in upstate New York (Tampone). He also mentioned that one of the major economic problems in Syracuse right now is interstate 81. Right now it is separating downtown Syracuse from Syracuse University. He as well as many other people feels that this is a major blockade that stops further economic development in the city of Syracuse (Tampone).











Works Cited
Colenso, Maria. "How Stuff Works "Big Business Versus Mom and Pop." How Stuff Works. 27 Apr. 2008 .

"How Small Businesses Affect Our Economy." Money Matters. 27 Apr. 2008 .

Tampone, Kevin. "Paterson: Spending Habits Put Albany on ‘Another Planet’." THe Central New York Business. 27 Apr. 2008 .

"The Wal-Mart Era-Not All Bad for Small Businesses." The Wall Street Journal 02 Oct. 2007. 20 Apr. 2008.