Can small businesses survive in a world of monopolies?

[charrles]

As tech giants expand into every sector, are independent entrepreneurs being pushed out? Every niche , you see some big player which has eaten not only online small players but also small offline players.

[ruykeri]

Big companies usually run their business targeting the mass market. Their customer target is based on billions of people globally. They base their services on them. So they cannot change any decision very quickly. And they cannot solve all kinds of personal problems of the customer. So they are not taking away all kinds of opportunities  for Small entrepreneurs . Small entrepreneurs are based on a place, time or a particular society. They can solve any problem very quickly if they want. There are many small entrepreneurs in the e-commerce market who have become much more successful than their investments. You just have to have an exceptional and creative idea and understand community psychology.

[Jawhead999]

A decade ago, the supply chain is still working.

Raw material given to supplier then process to big manufactures, then they distribute the finished goods to big sellers, big sellers sell to small sellers and then customers will buy from the small sellers.

But in the last few years, the big manufactures are given a way to sell their products direct to customers.

Big sellers now have a choice to buy products from other countries and it usually cheaper than from big manufactures.

See, the small sellers are no longer important in the current scheme, hence we see many small sellers bankrupt.

[Spaceman1000$]

As tech giants expand into every sector, are independent entrepreneurs being pushed out? Every niche , you see some big player which has eaten not only online small players but also small offline players.

If the tech giant are edging out independent entrepreneurs with their advancement in tech, and is looking like the Independent entrepreneurs are not on the same playing ground with the tech giant, the solution is very simple, the Independent entrepreneurship should quietly move the entrepreneurial skills into tech, opening online stores and having an online presence, this way you can easily build your own brand and you will be doing it from the point of experience. Tech at the moment is like a revolution and is moving like a tide, so everybody that wants s to establish themselves should move along with the tide.

[Lanatsa]

As tech giants expand into every sector, are independent entrepreneurs being pushed out? Every niche , you see some big player which has eaten not only online small players but also small offline players.

If the tech giant are edging out independent entrepreneurs with their advancement in tech, and is looking like the Independent entrepreneurs are not on the same playing ground with the tech giant, the solution is very simple, the Independent entrepreneurship should quietly move the entrepreneurial skills into tech, opening online stores and having an online presence, this way you can easily build your own brand and you will be doing it from the point of experience. Tech at the moment is like a revolution and is moving like a tide, so everybody that wants s to establish themselves should move along with the tide.

True, the rise of big tech has completely reshaped how competition works in almost every industry and small independent entrepreneurs are often the ones who feel the biggest impact when large companies step into a niche they don’t just dominate online space but also influence offline business models through logistics ai automation and marketing reach that small players simply can’t match.

Still this doesn’t mean independent entrepreneurs are doomed it just means the strategy needs to evolve moving your business into tech driven spaces is no longer optional it’s survival having an online presence even if it’s small helps you stay relevant and accessible to customers while building a brand that’s flexible and personal something big corporations can’t easily replicate. Tech giants thrive on scale but smaller entrepreneurs can thrive on authenticity creativity and community connection these are things tech corporations usually lack when independent players use technology smartly to amplify those strengths they can still carve out their own loyal audience it’s about adapting not surrendering in this digital revolution.

[viljy]

As tech giants expand into every sector, are independent entrepreneurs being pushed out? Every niche , you see some big player which has eaten not only online small players but also small offline players.

This question was answered by Marx in the 19th century. It's funny, no matter how Marx was scolded and vilified, the history of capitalism turned out exactly as he wrote. And the inevitable end awaits capitalism ahead. Of course, this wildly enrages adherents of capitalism, but absolutely nothing can be changed, because the problem is not in Marx, but in capitalism itself. So the absorption of small businesses by monopolies is predetermined. Without government protection, monopolies (corporations) destroy or consume absolutely everything, from small businesses to the environment. Think of oil spills or other environmental disasters. This is all from the desire to reduce costs in order to maximize profits.

[CryptoLakwatsero]

The fact is that the big tech companies are currently entering nearly every industry and it is getting more and more pressure on small businesses. People that were performing well in the locality or small online sites are currently struggling to compete with the giants. But there is nothing as though the doors were closed. Large corporations tend to be unaware of the requirements of highly niche or tiny markets, and in that regard, small entrepreneurs have their niche. Most of the time individuals prefer small businesses as service locally, customised or local experience. Therefore, the challenges have been more but the opportunity is still there you just have to be a little smarter than before.

[Furball808]

As tech giants expand into every sector, are independent entrepreneurs being pushed out? Every niche , you see some big player which has eaten not only online small players but also small offline players.

It's hard and we often see small businesses close way too soon because they can't compete with large corporations but in business, risks always come and this is one of them. Some survive. Mainly because their audience has shifted.

https://www.firstalert4.com/2025/05/15/gen-z-having-an-impact-by-supporting-local-starting-small-businesses/

Small businesses are finding support among younger consumers from Gen Z as they’re more likely to shop local.

Gen Z is considered those born between 1997 and 2012.

A recent survey by Constant Contact finding about 50 percent of Gen Z and Millennials intentionally seek out small businesses during the week, compared to 25 percent of Baby Boomers.

It comes amid another trend, more people in this younger age group are opening businesses, compared to others.

Gen Z like to be connected to whoever they are buying from. They want to form experiences and they seem to care more about the background of who they are buying from. Whether that brand supports a specific political party or uses non harmful materials, Gen Z is curious. Do not lose motivation but instead find a better audience to target.

[TheUltraElite]

A common end point of any entrepreneur is to sell off their project to someone big and retire with the money earned from that deal. So if you follow that mindset then the above question does not really arise. You have a finite amount of time on this earth and you would be better of living it rather than thinking what will happen to your company.

In case you actually develop something that is groundbreaking you will step up against the top companies but this is rare and most startups eventually get sold off to older companies, nothing to be afraid of.

[Stavri]

It is hard but possible, but since your competitive strength will be weak, you need to have a unique different feature.
For example lets talk about food sector. imagine you’re opening a restaurant and there are many chain restaurants around. You need to surpass them with something. your prices, your taste, your menu, or even the music you play in your place. But if you open a burger place next to Burger King with the same or lower quality. you have no chance of competing.

[Findingnemo]

Big players were there in every sector, if we took the restaurant, there's always someone who is very successful in running a fancy and expensive restaurant and there is a roadside kart which were also making profits at the same time because each is targeted towards a  different set of customers which may not affect one another.

And if you are saying if someone is providing everything for cheap without compromising the quality then people will obviously go for the one who is giving at less price and small players can do that but need to reduce their profit margin.

[Nahl]

Small bussiness never can survive in the middle of monopolies of big companies and i dare to say that because this is based on my personal experience that i was build small bussiness with the audiences is the same such as big companies and my bussiness is not profitable even loss because i have to compete for the prices of raw material, marketing strategies or basic prices of the product against big companies and this makes me failed to compete against them because they can monopolize the things which i mentioned above even in the short term my bussiness was bankrupt  

[uneng]

I don't know if they can succeed or not. What I know is that all we can do is to keep trying to make small businesses survive and thrive, so let's make the best we can to develop our businesses, offering high quality services with a catchy cost-benefit correlation. It's an unfair game in an unfair world, but it's still a game which can be played, right?

I guess it makes each little achievement on your business more rewarding and satisfactory when you don't belong to the monopolies, but still manage to make consistent progress.

[Ucy]

If you understand how the system works, you will know that it always seek to easily control others, and would prefer monopolies for this reason. What the ordinary people or the disadvantaged need is to build alternative system that can't easily be controlled, stopped or suppressed by the monopolistic system, where members can thrive and support one another businesses.
The system will need to be built to encourage or incentivize interdependency. And there has to be right rules to keep things in right order and prevent disorderliness, discord, cheating and other vices.

This is one of the main reasons Bitcoin exists today. Small businesses can utilize its features by building network of interdependent businesses around it, and they will need be decentralized (or not centrally controlled), transparent, immutable, censorship resistant, permissionless, trustlessness, public consensus/reputation based, etc, in order to make things hard for the monopolistic system to capture and control them.  In such decentralized networks of businesses, if you want someone to buy from you, you buy from them and sell them what they need, for example, if you often buy chickens from a seller, you can start producing good quality chicken feeds so that the system algorithm can easily recommend you to the chicken seller. The algorithm recommendation method is based on the fact you buy chickens from the seller and sell high quality feed and possibly have good customer service.
This is what we are working on for Bitcoin, rather than creating another monopolies on it

[Renampun]

That is the challenge for many small business owners today because the big players have started to penetrate markets that they have never reached before, these big players have started selling products directly and even brands that seemed exclusive are now doing live sales on the TikTok application or other social commerce platforms. this is a challenge for small players because they have to adapt to new trends and think hard to stay relevant and competitive in the industry, but that does not mean that small businesses will definitely be eliminated, the opportunity is still there, but they just need to think about quality and offer more affordable or better services or products so that their products can remain competitive.

[Fortify]

As tech giants expand into every sector, are independent entrepreneurs being pushed out? Every niche , you see some big player which has eaten not only online small players but also small offline players.

In some ways small businesses have an advantage, but in other ways big business do - there's not a definite answer. Big business has economies of scale (they can buy in bulk which drives down prices) and can construct vast logistics/supply chains that give them a unique advantage. However they can also suffer from stagnation, becoming financially inefficient with legacy costs and may not be able to adapt to changing demands related to the product they sell. Small businesses can be much more dynamic, able to pivot to new trends and are likely to have better control of costs when it comes to things like employees. However they often must survive on less of a buffer, if one of the things they sell starts to fail for whatever reason they might go under due to lack of variety and they will have higher sourcing costs.

[yudi09]

As tech giants expand into every sector, are independent entrepreneurs being pushed out? Every niche , you see some big player which has eaten not only online small players but also small offline players.

That is part of the challenge, and all business sectors must be prepared for it. The challenges we face today may be different from those of the past, and those of the future will be even tougher and harsher. If you are not prepared, you will inevitably go out of business.
In the past, large capital owners easily dominated the market with the products they offered. These large capital owners, who used to rely solely on affordability to easily manufacture products and obtain raw materials, are now trying to acquire additional technology.
Each level has different competition, and small players are only spectators with their small games.

[iv4n]

As tech giants expand into every sector, are independent entrepreneurs being pushed out? Every niche , you see some big player which has eaten not only online small players but also small offline players.

It's hard to compete with giants, but it's definitely possible... There are many small businesses around, and some of them have a long history. I guess we can say that of them last because they offer something the big players can't.

There's no universal answer or solution... We can say that small businesses simply need to find their place and adapt in various ways to remain competitive & profitable. How do you approach that? Well, it depends a lot on where you live, the skills you have, and all other circumstances & factors.

[DrBeer]

As tech giants expand into every sector, are independent entrepreneurs being pushed out? Every niche , you see some big player which has eaten not only online small players but also small offline players.

Big business certainly sounds powerful. But as practice shows, it cannot cover all segments. Take Coca-Cola, for example. It is the largest producer of soft drinks and juices. Tell me, does it have retail stores? Does it belong to the B2C segment? No.
 Maybe they only sell through large retail chains? No, they don't! Large companies cannot operate in small markets because their costs would be very high. And they themselves give this business to medium-sized companies, which then delegate it all to small businesses, which also sell the products of “large companies” in their segment.
 

[Coyster]

The greater the resources, the larger the chances of success are. I think that is the short and straightforward way to put it. Institutions or companies with huge resources can hire the best manpower available, and with great management and people skills, they are at a great advantage.

That said, small players should not really aim to compete with the big players at the start of their journey. It should be about discovering their own path to success without directly competing with larger industries with greater resources.