Show NEW government AGENCY TO bus I 1 domestic commerce division of U S Sr Department opens special section queries from from f small smail merchants merchant or citizens citizen planning to engage en p ge in business on a limited scale com compiles prizes a substantial percentage of the letters aich have been received by the domestic division of the dapa department rt of commerce because so 50 many problems of the small business business man ate aie unusual it has been decided to set up a special section in the domestic commerce division to deal with them according to dr frank INT surface assi assistant tant director of the bureau of foreign and domestic commerce who supervises that bureaus service facilities applying to market adark et problems in the united states tile the smaller business iii mens ens questions have rani ranged zed over a great variety of subjects related to the profitable operation of retail stores but the meat and grocery trades have originated the largest share A prospective business man in the wet west for example asked for data on the avera average I 1 e cost of a meat market the per cent of profit salary rent light 1 anti and costs which prevail in that business bu iness full information regarding retail grocery stores and statistics on the average ge cost of clerk hire was requested ested by bv a resident of a small town I 1 m W ohio the frequency of turnover among small grocers the average volume of business and the amount A aich should be spent for advertising N were ere the leading questions jn in a query from new england V among adiong the other queries were requests quests for information concerning concertin the rearing earing apparel business selling jewelry j ew on the installment plan the battery service station the retail furniture business management of a millinery store and so on throughout the lange ot ol business which might be c carried on oil successfully b a citizen with more or less limited means in e explaining the fu functions I 1 actions and fac facilities of tile the domestic commerce division dr surface points out our that tile the now new section was wa established to balance the service that division is in a position to render american citizens generally he said that information gathered as a result of the recent trial distribution census in eleven im important cities in the united states state s indicated in that there is an enormous number of merchants naho operate on a relative relatively lv small scale the returns disclosed that in one city nearly 33 3 per cent of the retailers retailer were doing ks than worth of business s a year some concerns were vere not reported because they lid did less than worth oi of business ann annually annuals over 18 percent of the retailers reported from all eleven cities lid did from fro to 1000 worth of or business a year and over 28 percent did from 10 to annual business the information collected indicated that perhaps 79 per rent cent of all th thi operating be termed I 1 small business establishments dr surface points out thai that the prime purpose of the ne new unit is ia to cooperate with these merchants in in helping them to help thenis themselves elves he said paid that much information has already been collected by the department which may he be had upon r request ue t dealing with a very wide ra range 17 of store problems such as store stare location and planning education of a retail sales force budgetary control in retail store management department leasing of retail stores store vehicular traffic congestion and retail business measuring a retail market etc in the opinion of dr surface it is the taie so called little fellow in business who can often profit to greater advantage from governmental assistance si of the type outlined and as a a result special efforts are made made to provide detailed answers to all re ciu ests of this kind he fie said as the I 1 departments develops develop a muan greater range a of information vill v ill be available to the business man to assist him in avoiding the mt mistake mastake stake anti and pitfalls which have wrecked so man v small businesses in the past an examination of the record of the morgue of business failures alcord accorn inc to dr surface shows that mismanagement is ih the cause of the greater percentage of commercial deaths |