After working as a rescue specialist at a fire department in Mexico City for many years, Hector Chavez and his family moved to the United States so he could pursue certifications and advance his career. But 10 years later and out of opportunities to continue his passion, Hector decided to open Plaza Garibaldi, a Mexican restaurant in Soledad, Calif.
As Congress debates a bipartisan infrastructure plan and a larger $3.5 trillion investment in “human infrastructure,” Small Business Majority surveyed its network to understand their views on key issues being considered such as child care and paid family and medical leave. The survey also examined how small businesses are navigating mask and vaccination requirements, as an increase in coronavirus cases becomes a concern for employers and local economies.
With 31.7 million small businesses in the country employing nearly half of the workforce, small businesses continue to struggle to rebuild in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. That's why hundreds of them have signed onto a letter calling on Congress to invest in our country's outdated infrastructure systems. Doing so would create a better foundation for small business recovery post-pandemic and will better prepare businesses to weather future crises.
Ten years ago when Sarah Ladley started her Colorado, banana-based ice cream food truck Ba-Nom-a-Nom, she was ahead of the curve. Now, after nearly a year and a half of Covid setbacks, she is fighting to keep up.
Never in a million years did Sarah think she would become a business owner. In fact, she was on a pre-med track in undergrad when she started learning about population health and became interested in the failings of the American food system.
While the worst part of the pandemic may seem to be in the rearview mirror, small business owner Brandon Lindley and his husband Raphael Polito say it depends on the location of your business. As licensees of the world-renowned flip-flop brand Havaianas, Brandon and Raphael own two locations in the United States: One in downtown Palm Springs, Calif. and the other one in Scottsdale, A.Z.
As a third generation business owner, Alan Moy has gained significant wisdom and experience from watching his parents and grandparents choose an entrepreneurial journey as a means to provide a brighter future for their children. Today, he’s the proud owner of Viet Nom Nom, a Vietnamese-inspired restaurant, catering and pop-up business in Evanston, Ill. that serves healthy salads, rice bowls, soups and sandwiches.
Just six months after Suhyoon Wood concocted her very first batch of kombucha, she decided it was time to turn her passion project into her very own small business. When her signature recipe—a blend incorporating organic green tea and honey—gained popularity among her friends and community members, she launched Beejou Craft Kombucha: Columbus, Ga.’s first and only craft and brewery kombucha taproom.
When Shalini Khanna immigrated to Northern California, she found that the majority of jobs available to Indian immigrants were in tech and IT. Uninterested in sitting behind a desk all day, she knew entrepreneurship was for her.
Unfortunately, she didn’t know many entrepreneurs she could turn to for advice and had no hands-on experience running a business despite having an MBA, so she decided to take the route of franchising.
She says, “I didn’t have anything in the bank or any experience, but I knew I wanted to own my own business.”
Today, Small Business Majority offered recommendations to state and local governments on how to distribute funding administered through the American Rescue Plan that would support small businesses. State governments are ideal for providing this support due to the stimulus aid provided to them via the American Rescue Plan. Strategic investments can have a transformative impact on the long-term sustainability of a small business ecosystem.
The White House's $2 trillion proposed American Jobs Plan—an infrastructure reform plan—continues to be hotly debated on Capitol Hill, and proposals to pay for infrastructure investments via tax reforms are some of the most contested pieces of the plan. A new small business survey reveals that small businesses strongly favor key provisions of the American Jobs Plan, and they support paying for them by enacting reforms that would require wealthy corporations and individuals to pay a higher share of taxes.
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