Each year in the United States close to 500,000 businesses are started. If you are considering opening a business in 2013, make sure you think twice about your idea. According to American Express’ Open Forum, there are 13 businesses that you should absolutely not open in 2013, according to Philly News.
1. A distribution company. For the most part, in today’s world, the majority of products can be purchased from an online store right from the manufacturer. This means that distributors are becoming very rare these days.
2. A website that features daily deals. The daily deals industry is declining because merchants do not want to get rid of their margin just so they can add a new customer to the fold.
3. A frozen-yogurt store. Frozen-yogurt stores have popped up all over the country recently, with some cities seeing multiple stores open in a matter of months from each other. This means that the market is littered with these types of businesses.
4. A restaurant. In the restaurant industry, employee turnover is incredibly high and the competition is very steep. Then you must acquire the necessary permits and meet building requirements. Right now, it is just not worth the headache.
“If you look at the businesses that are most likely to fail, it’s restaurants. They need planning more than anybody because they can’t adjust,” Therese Flaherty, director of the Wharton Small Business Development Center, said in an interview with Philly News. “If you’re in services or consulting, if somebody didn’t buy your service yesterday, you change it today. But if you’re in a restaurant, and you put a lot of money into your venue, you can’t move.”
5. A brick-and-mortar bookstore. eBooks outsold paper copy books in 2012 because of Amazon and even Barnes and Noble’s foray into the eBook world.
6. An Internet cafe. There is no need for Internet cafes anymore because so many restaurants and stores offer free WiFi already for customers.
7. A video-rental store. This should have been on the list for at least the last five years as video rental store Blockbuster began closing its stores at a rapid rate years ago. In the month of September, 39 billion videos were viewed on the Internet.
8. A pay-phone-booth company. This one should be blatantly obvious.
9. A Hallmark card store. Many more people are using online card stores to send their birthday and holiday greetings.
10. A retail clothing or shoe store. More and more people are buying their clothing on the Internet, even though it is best to try the objects on before buying.
11. A travel agency. This is another business that should be obvious not to open. So many travel websites are exploding with their deals that brick-and-mortar travel agencies are disappearing.
12. A limo company. There are so many car rental companies and other companies such as Uber out there that starting a limo company could become an incredibly difficult thing to do.
13. An alcohol distributor. The politics alone in trying to start one of these should deter you.