It’s a New Dawn, It’s a New Day, It’s a New Life For Small Business… and I’m Feeling Good
Posted: January 30, 2010, 09:56 AM by Leslie Grossman
If you haven’t listened to the song “Feeling Good” recorded by some of the greatest singers from Nina Simone to Frank Sinatra to Michael Buble,, it’s time to go to You Tube and listen again. I’d like to make it the theme song for America’s small businesses this year. President Obama’s new focus on small business in his State of the Union address makes “a new dawn” possible. It took the Administration a year to finally figure out what most of us have known. America’s economy is driven by small business. Where small business goes, so goes the country. And small business has been in a mess for the last two years and so has the country. So after focusing on the banks and healthcare since his inauguration, I’m hopeful that the President and the Congress is finally is going to help the people who can help the economy – the owners of America’s small businesses – all 29.6 million of them, who are the biggest employers of Americans. The President mentioned “small businesses” 13 times in his State of the Union address. I’m going to assume that for year 2 of his presidency he is making small business growth a priority, which translates into creating jobs. The President proposed in the State of the Union (1) eliminating capital gains taxes on small business investments, (2) extending tax breaks for businesses who hire people, (3) re-directing 30 billion dollars in bank bailout money towards community banks for lending, and (4) a tax credit for all businesses to invest in new equipment. Two days after the State of the Union, the President got a little more specific while visiting a small business in Baltimore, MD, and announced the Small Business Jobs and Wages Tax Cut, which will provide a $5,000 tax credit to over a million small businesses for every net new employee they hire, with other tax incentives for increasing wages. All of us small business owners are anxious to hear even more details of this program and then, of course, how fast this legislation will go into effect. Of course, we have the challenge of having a dysfunctional Congress, who has shown little leadership this past year. We have to pray that members of Congress will look within themselves and stop this ridiculous partisanship and be the leaders they were elected to be. Good leaders collaborate for the common good of their followers. They need to look at the total population of the U.S. and not just to the people who voted them into office. They need to come together for the common good and vote for jobs and economic growth and they need to do it fast. That means they have to stop insisting to be “right” every time and quickly move to help small business move ahead. They need to be an example of what leaders do to lead. Be courageous, listen to each other, and collaborate. If voters see a continuation of stupid politics and stubbornness, Congress deserves to be voted out – I don’t care which party they represent. And if lawmakers work together and move us out of this economic atrocity, they all deserve to get reelected. So U.S. Congress, the small businesses of America challenge you to pass legislation which will create jobs and enable the small companies that drive the economy to do what they do so well. Then it will be “A new dawn, a new day, and a new life” for all Americans and we’ll all be "feeling good." Leslie Grossman, Cofounder, Women's Leadership Exchange
Reader Comments
Posted: March 4, 2010, 05:08 PM by Lya Sorano
For more information about how the CFPA would benefit small business, see my op-ed in today's The Hill:
http://thehill.com/opinion/op-ed/84957-consumer-protection-would-help-small-businesses
Posted: March 2, 2010, 04:50 PM by Torie Russell
This is a very interesting speech by Werner Erhard about why we as human beings do what we do, and how knowing that is important to managing business performance <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/HarvardCPL#p/u/3/DwQr_BJrHJ8">Why We Do What We Do: A New Model Providing Actionable Access to the Source of Performance</a>
Posted: January 30, 2010, 06:09 PM by Yvonne Riner
Love the comments and sooo support moving away from a scarcity mentality and into an abundance mentality where businesses are given the support and tools needed to help each other grow their businesses.
Fellow women business owners: There's a B2B Atlanta Conference Feb 9th at Gwinnet Center? www.atlb2bworkshop.com Victor Antonio is the key note speaker and there's several great workshops including: Networking Opportunities and Resources for Women Business Owners. Feel free to use my Exhibitor Promotional code: UBERTRADE for a discount
Posted: January 30, 2010, 05:14 PM by Lya Sorano
In addition to this "Small Business Jobs and Wages Tax Cut" initiative, women in the business world also need Congress to establish the Consumer Financial Protection Agency (CFPA). Fairness needs to go hand-in-hand with opportunity.
