Due to how America sets up its market system, anyone can be successful if the people are willing to work hard to achieve their goal, but sometimes that isn’t the case.

Working at a movie theater, I have received first-hand experience of the means and motivations of small businesses and big businesses. There is a major factor that most people forget in regards to big businesses, which is focusing more on the actual money than the people’s satisfactory and overall wellness of the workers as well.

At the movie theater, I started working when it was under a small business owner who only had one other location in the city. We had monthly staff meetings, our breaks were full of laughter and I still have many of the friends I made when I worked there. Work was work but the inclusion that I felt was something to be contrasted with when the theater was sold to a big business.

Soon the uniforms started to change and then shortly after, friends disappeared because new rules were added and we were very restricted on what was policy by corporate. It was confining and the light began to fall from everyone’s eyes. Everyone was threatening to quit.

Small businesses have been a big underlying contributor to boosting the economy, providing jobs and provide a paved road to sprint toward the American dream. Small businesses have an unforgettable motivation but are not able to financially support themselves because of the lack of business and money.

Freshman Josh Geither, finance major, reports why small businesses are overlooked and how businesses can fix their current situation.

“Bigger brands are more advertized and in the premise of clothing, people want to wear what everyone else is wearing,” Geither said. “Small businesses are more focused on their customers since they have less of a consumer base. Focus on your target market.”

Focusing on specific target audiences will increase the appeal of their business because this tells them and the consumers to expect what to buy but to also get that perfect experience for not just the consumer, but for the owner as well. The owner now has something substantial that they can be proud of and receiving the feedback from customers is severely rewarding.

“Workers are more motivated because they are more knowledgeable and involved with the mission of the company,” said freshman marketing major Jennie Wilson. “This also includes closer relationships with employees and community which results in higher productivity.”

Working for a company that you can be proud of is more rewarding than focusing solely on logistics and how corporate will continue to make money. Overlooking the workers, big businesses take away the creativeness and overall productivity of the workers and they are made to perform like drones.

Spend your money on a movie ticket, and you pay for the experience of the grandness and wonder that film can bring, but look deeper at the many factors small businesses incorporate with every visit.