Not everyone with the dream of starting their own small business has been met with success.
But according to a recent report by the U.S. Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy, which identifies a small business as one with less than 500 employees, the small-business world is an important part of Alabama's economy.
The report states that small businesses "represent 96.9 percent of all employers and employ 49.0 percent of the private-sector labor force."
Lolly Steiner, president of Auburn Chamber of Commerce said that out of the chamber's 890 members, 99 percent are small businesses.
Steiner said she has seen the entrepreneurial spirit on the rise.
She specifically pointed to Auburn as a fertile ground for small businesses.
"People want to come back here and so, if the very thing they want to do is not here, then they have the opportunity to create it themselves."
Steiner named various small businesses in the Auburn community that have found success, noting that those who succeed must not only have good product, but also a wellrun business she said.
Nazmi Ozokur is the owner of Island Wing Company, a new restaurant that opened in August on West Glenn Avenue.
While the restaurant is part of a franchise, Ozokur said the Island Wing Company is individually owned, the first in the nation and will spread out from Auburn.
"I'm originally from Turkey," Ozokur said. "I moved here in 2001 with $800 in my pocket... It's almost like you could consider this the American dream."
Ozokur said that he enjoys the restaurant business and that success is found in the small things.
Steiner also stressed the hard work that goes into starting a small business.
"Especially when you have a little taste of the corporate world and you don't think twice about your check being there on the 15th and the 30th," Steiner said. "It's something you never worried about. But if you work for a small business owner, then you better be good at what you do and you better be a part of that success of that business or your paycheck could be in jeopardy."
Steiner also said two reasons she feels small businesses have grown recently are related to the city's sales tax revenue and business license fees being up.
In comparing Oct. '11 through Jan. '12 to the same time period this past year, the sales tax revenue and business license fees were both up 2.21 and 2.5 percent respectively, Steiner said.
Another factor that may help the small businesses represented in Auburn is its diverse community Steiner said.
"Being a college town offers a very unique client base to a retailer, from a restaurant standpoint to a boutique stand- point," Steiner said. "Because you have a wide range of citizens."
Ozokur also said the city's varied population is helpful.
"A lot of people are stopping by Auburn for 4 years, 5 years and they're going to move on and move to different states and different places, so this is kind of like a hub to be able to actually capture people from every single state," Ozokur said.
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