Ain't Fare

Going up against Big Taxi in the Nutmeg State:

You've decided to open a mom-and-pop store in a Wal-Mart world, so you seek the necessary permits from the government.

You have retail experience (eight years working for Wal-Mart), a business plan (you'll hire two employees, take a modest salary for yourself), and willing customers (who know you from Wal-Mart but would prefer to shop in your store).

Before you can open, you must first prove to the government that there is a need for your store — that Wal-Mart isn't meeting the public demand for stuff. You must show there are enough shoppers to support your store and guarantee Wal-Mart the profit margins they're used to.

You must subject yourself to five separate public hearings — spread out over six months — in which the CEO of Wal-Mart himself will grill you about your business plan, to demonstrate why you shouldn't be allowed to compete with him.

You must hire an attorney, because Wal-Mart's good at this. They eat small business owners like you for lunch. And if you successfully leap every hurdle without going broke, you win the right to earn a few bucks more than you made at Wal-Mart in exchange for the pride and stress of being a small business owner. Congratulations.

Replace Wal-Mart with Metro Taxi and you get an idea of what Mubarik Mir has gone through trying to open his own cab company.