Walden University ScholarWorks Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies Collection 2017 Sustainability Strategies for Small Business Restaurant Owners Alisa Williams Walden University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations Part of the Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations Commons This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies Collection at ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. Walden University College of Management and Technology This is to certify that the doctoral study by Alisa Williams has been found to be complete and satisfactory in all respects, and that any and all revisions required by the review committee have been made. Review Committee Dr. Peter Anthony, Committee Chairperson, Doctor of Business Administration Faculty Dr. Erica Gamble, Committee Member, Doctor of Business Administration Faculty Dr. Scott Burrus, University Reviewer, Doctor of Business Administration Faculty Chief Academic Officer Eric Riedel, Ph.D. Walden University 2017 Abstract Sustainability Strategies for Small Business Restaurant Owners by Alisa Williams MS, Grambling State University, 1994 BS, Southern Arkansas University, 1988 Doctoral Study Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Business Administration Walden University November 2017 Abstract Half of new businesses in the United States cease to exist after the first 5 years of operations, and the failure rate continues to increase after the first 10 years. The study was grounded on von Bertalanffy’s systems theory to explore business strategies that small business restaurant owners use to sustain their business beyond 5 years.