The findings of this study differ from those of Lewis (2008) and
Tregear (2005), who reported that small business owners who
conceptualize their businesses as a lifestyle reject growth, are not motivated
by monetary gains, and rarely have business success objectives
or forms of measuring this success. In contrast, the subsistence
entrepreneurs included in this study clearly define and perceive the
success of their business based on personal and family objectives
and goals, conceived in terms of the performance of the business in
the market. Sales volume and profit are financial indicators of success,
as they allow business owners to pay off debts, send their children to
school, make improvements to the home or workshop, purchase real
estate, or simply cover basic food and health needs. All of the five
types of subsistence businesses identified in this study are oriented
towards growth through increases in sales and profits, which implicitly
involve increases in employment and production. Although, in financial
terms, subsistence entrepreneurs may not conceptualize
business growth as great profits or economic power in the way that
large enterprises do, and their economic ambition is limited to the
lifestyle of their community, they feel successful when their sales or
profits allow them to satisfactorily cover family or social needs. In
terms of growth, the most significant difference identified between
the subsistence business types included in this study is that familylimited,
motivationally-limited, and past boom businesses reject insertion
into markets outside the community and are only interested
in growth through an increase in the number of tourists that visit
the community and purchase artisanal crafts. In contrast, leader and
follower subsistence businesses are interested in growth not only in
terms of sales, employment, and production, but also in terms of prestige
and participation in new markets, both national and international;
these businesses strive to attain such growth through innovations
and differentiation of their products and services. The implementation
of these strategic actions, intended to promote business growth
and success, as well as the continued existence of the business as a
standard of social, cultural, and family life, agrees with the results
found by Hernández et al. (2007) in Mexican handicraft businesses
and Paige and Littrell (2002) in American handicraft businesses, as
well as Shivani et al. (2006) in Indian enterprises.