This lecture will introduce the small entrepreneur in Pakistan the activities of SMEs in global and regional level. It will also reveal the role of SMEs in a developing economy.
Salient Features of Small Entrepreneurs in Pakistan
It is necessary to have good records for effective control and for tax purposes. The entrepreneur should be comfortable and able to understand what is going on in the business. With software packages, much of the record keeping can be maintained on a personal computer. The goals of a good record keeping system are to identify key incoming and outgoing revenues that can be effectively controlled.
It is useful to have knowledge about sales by customer both in terms of units and dollars. The
entrepreneur of a retail store might try to identify the profile of the type of customer that
patronizes the store. Retailers also like to have information on specific customers. Credit card
purchases can be tracked for information on the type and amount of merchandise purchased. An
Internet venture can maintain purchase history data on the types of produces purchased.
Customers’ e-mail addresses can be requested so the customer can be notified of sales. Some
Internet firms have established a free membership as a means of following up. In a service
venture, records would need to be maintained on when a customer paid their monthly fee. As
cash flow problems are the most significant cause of new venture failure, good payment records
are necessary. Record keeping of payments can either be handled by a computer software
package or a simple card file system. If payments are late beyond a reasonable time, it may be
necessary to hire a collection agency, but only as a last resort.