What careers would be best suited for a major in sociology?

Nick, I think a degree in sociology can take you in a lot of directions in big- or small-business or government. Except for some pretty obvious exceptions in terms of career choice, I wouldn't worry too much about what your major is.

With some careers, you need focused training in college to advance: engineering, hard sciences, accounting, etc. In most other areas, what is most important is that you major in something that really energizes you. Think of your major as a platform on which you can build skills like time management, communication and writing, attention to detail, preparing and practicing to make perfect, and the like.

Early in your career, a hiring manager is going to look at lot harder at how well you did than at what you studied.

Speaking of "early in your career," you should focus on finding an area of business that really interests you and plan to spend at least 5 years learning the business as a member of someone else's team.

One thing to understand is that before you own a small business, you want to gain experience in that field under someone else's tutelage. Whether it's retail, professional services, graphic design, a restaurant, construction, real estate, manufacturing, or whatever, one of the biggest success factors will be whether you have taken the time to become an expert in the functions of your chosen field before you take on the additional challenges of managing a business.

If you're going to manage people who provide a service, you have to know what they're doing inside and out. You have to be able to do what they do and manage what they're doing in your sleep, because you'll have a lot more going on. As the owner, you'll need to >manage< the "doers," run sales (yourself or salespeople), run marketing, oversee finances, stay on top of what your competitors are doing and how to respond, hire, train, etc. That's too much to learn if you're learning your product, service, and customer at the same time.

Hi Nick.
Great question. Studying sociology will help you understand how people think and act and how they interact and are motivated. These are all very important to understand if you want to be a successful small business owner and plan on leading other employees. ( http://sociology.berkeley.edu/what-can-i-do-sociology-major )

How directly helpful the degree is will also depend on the type of small business you start or want to own.

I hope this helps!
~Alex C.