I am a small business owner – and proud of it!

I’ll never forget that day.  My wife Jane and I were at a social event around Christmas time.  As we mingled with the other attendees someone asked, “So Tony, what do you do”?  My answer was automatic and enthusiastic “I own a small business here in Fort Worth”.  The handful of folks gathered around us nodded their mild affirmation.  Then another person turned to Jane and said “How about you Jane?”  Almost apologetically she responded, “I am a business analyst with IBM”.  Their response to her reply was predictable; “Wow IBM, that’s terrific.  Where do you office? How long have you been there? Do you know so and so”?  Instinctively I knew that this was my cue to slink off to the punch bowl while the euphoria of her disclosure dissipated.

Now don’t get me wrong, I love my wife and have always been proud of her professional achievements (although I will tell you that they don’t even rate on the scale of being a terrific wife and mother).  Also, I am very grateful to IBM, its employee friendly policies and her co-workers.  After all, without Jane’s paychecks we would have starved while I was getting my little company established.

It’s just that after watching this reaction play out several dozen times in the first 15 years of our marriage it became offensive.  Why?  Because it was a very personal example of how folks view small business vs. corporate America.  Even though people rail against the way some big telephone, internet service provider, utility company or big box retailer has mistreated them; somehow we hold a grudging respect for what it takes to grow a business to “super-sized” dimensions.

What is more troubling about the notion of bigger is better when it comes to respecting business accomplishments is the fact that 8 out of 10 employees in the United States work for a company of under 50 employees.  That’s right; we truly are a country of small businesses – really small.

Getting every American’s head wrapped around this truth is much more important than simply gaining respect for small business owners.  If we know that 8 out of 10 of us will spend most of our careers working in or owning small businesses we will:

• Change the way we educate our children -  Self-reliance, teamwork and learning to ”do more with less” is a required skill set in small companies.  K-12 education must equip our kids to read, write and problem solve in ways that are valuable to small business employers.
• Re-think how and where we spend our money – Keeping our local economies healthy is the key to maintaining great neighborhoods.  Supporting local vendors instead of sending our money out over the internet helps pay for everything we need; schools, roads, hospitals, etc.
• Become more engaged in supporting small business with our time and talents – Becoming active in our local Chamber of Commerce, Community Colleges and Service Clubs builds a bridge to the next generation of local entrepreneurs and helps our kids understand where most economic activity really takes place.
• Participate in the political process – It takes supportive public policy to create and maintain a healthy small business environment.  There is no such thing as a “them vs. us” scenario when it comes to what’s good for our communities and small businesses.  Each is mutually dependent on the other for growth and sustainability.
• Become informed – Every year it gets harder and harder for enterprising entrepreneurs to start a business in this country.  Increasing regulatory and taxation burdens take away the incentives to even try.  As these burdens increase, they kill small business job creation.

There is no question that over the last 200+ years the face of American small business has changed.  In fact, it has changed many times.  Once, it was the face of hard working settlers, farmers and craftsmen carving a civilized society out of raw land and unlimited natural resources. With time and the onset of organized industry those faces changed to become city dwellers and small factory operators.  Recently, as global communications has exploded ushering in the internet age these faces have morphed into a panacea of races, cultures and nationalities never before seen in the small business arena.

Still, no matter what the faces of small business looks like, the critical thing we must all remember is this:

We are a nation of small businesses.

On the day we collectively forget this irrefutable fact – we shut down the engine that has powered the greatest success story the world had ever known; the United States of America.