Nance Schick is a member of the New York Incubator.
The Small Business Administration (“SBA”) has been criticized often recently for a variety of reasons. New York State has a website dedicated to small business that is somewhat misleading in that it claims “nylovesmallbiz.gov.” Could part of the problem be that these organizations have failed to keep pace with the opportunities that technology has brought the small and micro-business?
I suggest the answer is yes. These well-intended organizations are slightly behind the times. Technology has created online document databases and retrieval services that allow many of us to work from home or “virtually.” Our offices are often in our shoulder bags and consist of Blackberries, cell phones, PDAs, and light-weight laptop computers. Our meeting rooms are in local restaurants and coffee houses. We may not need offices or storefronts. Our goals may not include IPOs. We might define our success by our ability to meet modest financial obligations and goals. We might have strong opinions on social responsibility. We could have charitable endeavors that need to be incorporated into our business plans.
My experience with the SBA and NYS suggests that the government is mostly interested in building businesses that grow quickly, create lots of jobs and, therefore, generate a lot or revenue for the state and country. I respect that goal, as we have many programs that need to be funded by the revenue generated. But, as I often say, “there is room for all of us.” Each of us has value, including the small business or micro-business that keeps other small and micro-businesses productive. What good is a large, private employer that demands huge tax breaks when there are a great number of smaller businesses that could produce the same results the governments desire—and the small businesses often pay dearly for everything.
In short, the candidates need to know that launching ladies are savvy, progressive and valuable contributors. They need to do more to assist us in meeting our goals and sustain our businesses. We need representatives who can think like we do and who can see big pictures that might take long periods to complete—but that have tremendous societal and economic value. We need advocates who can help us work through the bureaucracy and who recognize unintentional errors that should be resolved amicably. (Too many small businesses fail because of inadvertent tax errors that create unbearable penalties and interest charges. Too many also fail because of the personal injury system that allows large judgments for injuries and conditions (e.g., “pain”) that can be faked or that become a part of everyone’s life after a certain age.) We need to be invited into the tradition of business ownership and respected for our unique perspectives
Comments