there's still room for the smaller entrepreneur within the cut-throat City of Hamilton.

According to the general manager of the Small Business Development Corporation, Michelle Khaldoun, malls, partnerships and having companies based outside the City centre, all make sense.

"In Hamilton, there are signs that because of the space required, people do have difficulty starting their own company, but there is a constant opening of small businesses. It is tough for them in Hamilton given the overhead -- the cost of the rental space, but there are success stories throughout town, especially in the service area.'' Small business, she said, is defined as any business which is owned and managed by the person on the premises with a turnover in sales revenue of $1 million or less. The average small business employs anywhere from ten to five, or even less, people. It will have an annual payroll of $200,000 or less, enabling certain tax benefits from Government, with an average income for each employee in the region of $30,000.

"In the last couple of years it's been pretty flat for start-ups but we have seen some over the last nine to twelve months. Smaller retailers, or at least the ones we see, are still struggling. A mall environment would help a lot of smaller entrepreneurs to get a start, but the jury is still out with for places such as Butterfield Place. Basically for smaller businesses, although traffic is a factor, especially in retail, they want to get on the outskirts of Hamilton to avoid high overhead costs.'' What she does encourage, she said, are those small business owners willing to service the international business sector without being located in Hamilton.

"We have clients, for example, that provide coffee and coffee machines. They can be located in the proximity of Hamilton and save on those high costs.

There are a lot of opportunities to use in the catering sector. So we don't look at it as international business squeezing out the small business person, the small business person must always create the edge; a messenger service for example or a cleaning service. It doesn't mean they're not thriving because they don't have an office in Hamilton.

"I see a promising future for little cities being established in St. George's and Dockyard. I think if someone intends to open a business now, they must take more time planning and must understand what the market needs are. In terms of some of the things the Corporation of Hamilton is looking at, such as alfresco dining and more outside kinds of activities, they will definitely create more opportunity for smaller business people.'' Michelle Khaldun GOVERNMENT GVT 100 YEARS ANNIVERSARY ANN