Let’s start with an activity to get you thinking about these different types of business.
Spend approximately 30 minutes on this activity, not including any time spent travelling, walking or shopping.
This activity will help you start thinking about different types of business and what characterises them. Next time you are walking through your nearest town or city, make a note of the various businesses you come across and some of their most obvious characteristics. You can do this from memory if you prefer. Think about the criteria by which you might categorise these businesses. Make a note of these criteria and any examples you have thought of.
You may have thought about a number of different criteria, such as size, the type of business they do, where they are located, who owns them, etc. Here are some commonly used criteria for categorising businesses:
There are other ways of classifying businesses but size, industry sector and ownership structure are some of the more obvious categories to start with.
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