10 Riskiest Businesses to Start (and Sell to)

The nightmare of every company selling into small business is what happens when your customer goes out of business and still owes you money? With a new Bureau of Labor Statistics poll showing that only 44% of new companies make it to their 4th anniversary, it's a more common challenge than you might think.

According to Forbes, the 10 Riskiest Business to Start (and therefore to sell to as well) are:

Trucking

• Slave to oil prices
• Large competitors only earning single digit profits
• Facing increased government regulations
• Finding trustworthy drives a problem

Money Services Businesses

• Many cheques from customers bounce
• Finding a bank to supply the cash is difficult
• Facing increased government regulation
• Large banks like Citigroup and Bank of America are avoiding the industry

Auto Repair

• Razor-thin margins
• Insurance companies pay the bills and don't like paying much
• National competitors spread costs through high volume
• Shortage of skilled mechanics

Personal Services

• Commodity businesses who compete on price
• Low margins and often high startup costs
• Measurable growth hard to achieve

Food Stores

• Very competitive industry
• Margins between 1 and 4%
• Dominated by very large players

I will continue with the other 5 riskiest businesses to start (and Sell to) tomorrow.