This paper examines the determinants of business start-up, long and short-term success, and failure of small businesses. Entrepreneurs and small firm success and failure have been the subject of extensive research. It is important to understand the external, internal, and motivational factors responsible for business start-up, the barriers faced during the initial and continuous stages of trading and the advice and assistance available to entrepreneurs. This paper is aiming in explaining the main factors are related to successful, and failure of entrepreneurs in small industrial business in Ahvaz city. Based on a random sampling 51 enterprisers marked as successful and failures are selected. The data collected based on a triangulation method (interview, questionnaire, and observation). The results show that: a- from the failure entrepreneurs point of view the following issues were important effects on their weak performance and failure their business: weak managing technical skills, financial issues, planning and organizing of their business, economic issues, informal issues, weak managing conceptual skills, personnel skills, education and low training, and weak human relation. b- from the successful entrepreneurs point of view the following issues were important effects on their high performance in their business: suitable managing technical skills, selecting appropriate personnel with relevant skills, education and paying more attention to personnel training, application of management conceptual skills, financial issues, better human relation, recognize the economic situation, planning and organizing of their business and informal issues
