*4.2.7 Ownership*

*Regional Development in Africa*

of businesses in Zimbabwe.

*4.2.3 Business type*

*4.2.4 Family business*

*4.2.5 Business premises*

*4.2.6 Distance travelled*

professional.

*4.2.2 Owner run*

for one to become better of (a billionaire) with multiple streams of income. There has to be a strategy to diversify the income streams to boost the bottom line and if

The owner of the business running an enterprise may not have expertise of the business. The owner may not be having the zeal for entrepreneurship and it may be difficult for such a business to grow or report outstanding profits. On the other hand with expertise and professionalism, some owners run business that succeeds and ends up employing more with different qualifications. The success may differ from one company to another but vision, professionalism and entrepreneurship skills will separate them. Thousands of ambitious entrepreneurs start businesses and many of them fail. There is need to find how this factor determine profitability

Formal businesses often perform better than informally run enterprises. The absence of entrepreneurial skills in small informal businesses explains the nongrowth and failure of businesses across the African continent. The informal sector has not been viewed as a springboard of prosperous and prolific business development, profitability and growth. Banerjee and Duflo [21] argue that majority of the enterprises of the poor do not exhibit the entrepreneurial spirit and are often revealing disappointments in the economies they operate. Naude [22] also argues that constructive policies work better in the formal economy than the informal. However, the informal sector acts as a buffer from slipping into deeper poverty. There is need

to investigate how informal or formal business type influences profitability.

Family businesses are run according to the vision, culture, expertise and ability of the members thereof. In such businesses profit can be much more if business is run professionally. Because it is a family business, expertise from outside may be blocked for fear of diluting power. There are some examples of businesses that were started by families that have grown into large corporations or household names in different sectors. However many others have failed along the way as disagreements ensue. In a family business, profits or success may be viewed as dynamic combination of business performance, family business culture and stakeholder personality.

Operating premises may be a determining factor of profitability made by small businesses. Fixed costs such as rentals may hinder SMEs from reporting high levels of profit. The premises one is operating from give the businesses value and image. If one owns the premise s/he is likely to build attractive permanent structures that may attract more and better business as the market views it as organised and

Some entrepreneurs have to travel to their business premises and the times taken vary with distance and mode of transport. Distance may influence time spent

one project goes down, the other one(s) could succeed.

**222**

In SMEs the most crucial or important stakeholders are the owners, customers and staff. The owners of the business take important decisions in everyday activity and determine the success or profitability of business [12]. Their vision, expertise, philosophy and other resources influence greatly the success of the venture. How does ownership structure affect profitability levels of SMEs in Zimbabwe?
