The growth and development process of fashion accessories micro enterprises in the Cape Town Metropole

Abstract

The immense contribution of small businesses to economic growth has been widely documented. Governments around the world, including in South Africa, are consequently placing increasing emphasis on creating an enabling environment for small businesses to succeed. Yet despite such efforts by the South African government, most start-ups in this country continue to fail and exit the market. This trend is replicated in fashion accessories micro enterprises in the Cape Town Metropole. This study set out to analyse the process of development of those retail fashion accessories micro enterprises which manage to defy the odds and grow. The analysis led to the development of a growth and development model for fashion accessories micro enterprises that aims to reduce the failure rate of start-ups. A qualitative research study was carried out in the Cape Town Metropole area. A sample of fifteen small fashion accessories business owners was drawn using snowball sampling, and data was collected from them through semi-structured interviews and a focus group. The data was analysed through content analysis using ATLAS.ti software. The research outcome shows that there are three phases in the growth and development of a business, establishment, operations and growth. In the establishment phase of a business most of the effort is put into research and planning before the implementation of establishing the business. In the operations and growth phase, in addition to research and planning there are implementation and review processes. The conclusion of this study is that the growth and development of fashion accessories retail micro enterprises can be achieved firstly through following three phases namely establishment, operations, and growth. In each of these phases the aim is to effectively engage in research and planning, implementation and review. This way a business is in a position that it can anticipate and effectively exploit opportunities and overcome possible challenges. The proposed growth and development model offers a general guideline on how to establish and grow a micro enterprise in the fashion accessories industry. It might serve to provide a potential entrepreneur with a starting point, bearing in mind that not all businesses will be established and grown in the same way. Potential entrepreneurs should consider establishing their start-ups as micro enterprises to allow them to develop and benefit from actual operating experience, whilst using the growth and development model as a strategic guideline. Small business owners should be actively involved in research and learning in order to make business decisions based on updated information.