The Economic Puzzle

Does the Election Really Matter to Small Business?

The Economic PuzzleI’d like to thank Barry Moltz for posting on his blog that helped get my wheels of thought turning on this topic.

Now that the presidential election is over, what does this mean for small business?  It is not news to write that this was probably THE most hyped presidential election I have ever seen in my lifetime.  Then again, there was Reagan/Carter in 1980 and, maybe Truman/Dewey in 1948.  I don’t know, I wasn’t around in 1948.  Now that it’s over, what now?

What Does This Mean to You, The Small Business Owner?

Let’s say that you are a small business owner who is struggling.  I know that the political left likes to say that business owners are sitting on their cash and in effect “going Galt,” and that might be true for larger corporations, but your average “Mom-and-Pop” small business can’t afford to do that.  Small businesses over the last few years have been hurting and fighting for their very survival.  If you don’t believe me, take a look around and count the number of “For Lease” signs in commercial real estate. Unless it is a new real estate development, the chances are pretty good that there was once a small business there.  The chances are good that you voted for Romney, although as a small business owner you might have voted for Obama.

How Big Government Relates To Small Business

The people on the far left think that government drives everything and that the social safety nets are there to catch everyone who falls.  They believe that government knows everything and that the capital belongs in the hands of the government.  They also believe that government agencies (like the Small Business Administration and the Department of Energy) fund business start-ups long before they get their first customer.  As it turns out, these people don’t know a lot about successfully running a small business if they believe these things.

I grew up in the South which might explain the next part. There are also people on the far right who believe that  certain deities control everything and that before a business can get off the ground, some religious entity has to be involved.  I’m not saying that a little prayer every now and then may not hurt.  I do know from experience that you’ve got to give a new business everything you’ve got and why not every now and then toss in a little prayer?  I’m also pretty sure that prayer won’t do everything for you.  Maybe the deity you’re praying to wants you to learn the hard way sometimes.  I don’t know.   To borrow a line from the late, great Jim Rohn, “I’m an amateur at this [religion] stuff.”

I think somewhere in the middle.  I do not believe that government funds small business successfully and that they should not fund small business.  I also believe that, even though a little prayer may not hurt, it’s not going to be the ONLY thing to get you where you want to go…especially if you believe the incorrectly repeated saying about the eye of the needle and the camel (different blog again).

Your Money and Your Vote

I have noticed that around every election time, government officials start fawning all over the small business community like a 15 year-old boy would over the latest issue of Penthouse magazine…and for nearly the same reasons.  Now that the elections are over, the big picture political picture didn’t change much.  That means that if you are struggling and you were hoping for help from the government, chances are that it’s not coming.  Let’s say that your average struggling small business owner voted for Romney in the hopes that help for your small business would come.  For the sake of debate, let’s say that Romney got elected.  Do you know how much help would be coming your way?  Probably not any at all.  Why?  It’s not the president’s responsibility to grow your business.  It’s your responsibility.

It has been my experience that government doesn’t give one fuzzy, blue damn about you or your business on an individual basis.  They want two things from you as a small business owner:  your taxes (or revenue) and your vote (permission to take your revenue).  Red or Blue, the government is not here to help small businesses grow unless it serves the government in the form of increased taxes from your small business.   Jim Rohn, one of my favorite business philosophers, said that government was like the goose that lays the golden egg in the sense that it provides the environment for us to achieve the levels of success that we deserve by working hard and working smart for it.  Taxes is how we feed the goose that lays the golden eggs.  Some would say that the goose eats too much and that is probably true.  But it is the tax revenue, mostly from small business, that keeps the goose laying the golden egg of opportunity that always prevails in this country.  There are probably politicians out there that think that raising taxes on small businesses HELPS small business.  That delusion is another blog post entirely.

The second only time that government is concerned about small business is when they are courting the small business voting bloc. It’s pretty big. Think about it.  When you consider that there were 23 million small businesses in the US around 2011, that means that there were at least 23 million business owners in 2011.  That’s a big voting bloc.  Of course, every time an election rolls around they are concerned about small businesses.

The Bottom Line

The bottom line is that you are responsible for the success of your small business success and no one else.  Also consider that you are also “response-able” for your small business as well, meaning that you are not responsible for everything that happens to you, but you are responsible for your response (reaction) to that event.  Yes, our taxes are probably going up, whether you make $250,ooo or less.  Is that fair?  I don’t know, that’s for us to decide individually.  That’s also for us to decide in the next election.

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Michael Neely

My name is Michael Neely and I am an entrepreneur, blogger, FOREX trader, coin collector and businessman. I have also been known as a waiter, bartender, Series Three (Commodities and Currencies Options and Futures). I currently live in New England with my beautiful fiancée, Patsy and Pip, our Jack Russell terrier.

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