In other places it might be called a cottage industry.
While futurehog's take on it is correct, I think that it must be pointed out that the label "mom and pop" is not always used undisparagingly.
As civilization evolved and the norm that we have come to accept is that only fat cat corporations provide the masses with everything they needed from peanut butter and jelly to hydrogen fuel cells the term "mom and pop" has been quite often used to make smaller sized competition look less competitive and their products not worth the buyer's risk of buying.
One of the greatest organizations that will surely be the cause of a lot of these "mom and pop" businesses to close would be the ISO*. By making it a "standard" requirement for products to be ISO certified for it to be considered by consumers, we more or less are assured that small businesses will have no place in the markets of the future.
While businesses like food and specialty services such as gunsmithing or custom leatherwork will probably be not affected this continuing trend of reliance on big corporations to provide us with everything can only last so long before it will eat itself. After all, they are not doing anything for the love of you, corporations are put up to make money, and that alone is the real bottom line.
* - The
ISO seal, while a bit assuring to some, does not neccesarily assure you of a
good product, all it does is set a minimum standard and if it is met or exceeded slightly, ascertains that a certain level of consistency is achieved by the
manufacturer. Meaning if it is
good, then it must always be
good, if it is not
very good, it should also be not
very good batch after batch.