A Small Business Narrative

Big D’s Ribs, a small business located in Sandusky, Oh has officially been a business for 18 years.  The owners of this business are Duane and Deborah Kay Williams.  They were married in 1977.  After they married it did not take long for them to realize they both had a knack for conjuring delectable combinations of food. 

Before they met each other, Duane graduated from a small village district in New London, Oh and transitioned into the industrial sector, working at factories.  Deborah graduated from a more urban district in Sandusky, Oh and transitioned to Bluffton College where she earned her degree in Business Administration.

Deborah’s formal education in business provided the couple with a reservoir of practical information for business efficiency.  Duane’s laid back yet attentive charisma contrasted perfectly with his wife’s sharp wit.  They went on to have three sons, and soon introduced their children to the family business. They purchased a booth, handmade out of 2 x 4’s and sold their product outside of grocery stores in Sandusky throughout the 1990’s.

The year is now 2010, and Duane and Deborah both hold jobs in the public sector.  Deborah serves as an elementary school instructor, while Duane works as a custodian.  Big D’s Ribs doesn’t serve food publicly, instead they are private caterers.  Although they have a clientele, their aspiration to live primarily off of their own private enterprise has not been substantiated.   This challenge is due primarily to one obstacle: Land, or the lack thereof.

There is a quote that says, “Luck prefers prepared men,” but luck is often impartial to ones preparation and oft prefers the privileged.

Land, is the uncommon denominator between people like the Williams family and a Berardi’s.  This dichotomy is tied to a political history of biased policy and discrimination which in turn thwarted many people’s opportunities.

With this question as a quasi-case study my question is: why is there so much vacant space around this country that could be occupied by bodies and businesses that are off limits, or purposefully highly priced?