Small Business Majority is enacting a comprehensive state policy agenda to ensure entrepreneurship is recognized as the lifeforce of a thriving and inclusive economy in California. Our state’s 4.2 million small businesses employ 7.4 million people, which amounts to nearly half of the private workforce, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration.
Small Business Majority’s Illinois policy agenda ensures that small business is at the center of a thriving and inclusive economy and advance policies that promote equitable pathways for entrepreneurship, with a particular emphasis on addressing systemic racism and sexism that impede economic inclusion and harm businesses owned by people of color, women and other underserved owners. The state’s 1.2 million small businesses employ 2.5 million people (about 45% of the private workforce), with firms less than 20 employees creating the largest net job gains.
Although Shirley Modlin plans on giving her manufacturing business, located in Powhatan, Virginia, over to her son in the next two years, she is nowhere near retirement. In fact, she is handing over her current business so she can start a new one and open a vocational center in the rural area of her town.
Today, John Arensmeyer testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business & Entrepreneurship at a hearing, "The Small Business Workforce Challenge: Causes, Impacts, and Solutions." More than two years into the pandemic, small businesses are slowly rebuilding but need a vibrant stable workforce to fully recover. Entrepreneurs, especially those in under-resourced communities, need an array of support to address labor shortages and ensure employees are able to come back to the workforce. Mr.
Small Business Majority writes in support of AB 2670, which would provide business assistance to small businesses hoping to make a positive social impact by providing jobs, training and support to employees who have barriers to employment.
Owning a small business can be challenging if you don’t have access to resources and tools to help you understand and manage the operational side of your business. For Javier Haro, this came at a high cost when his short debut as a restaurant owner came to a screeching halt after shutting down his business when the 2009 economic downturn hit the market.
On October 21, Small Business Majority released a new report on small business challenges in hiring and training employees in California and their struggles accessing the broader workforce development ecosystem. The report reveals findings from an online survey of small business owners across the state, as well as separate focus group discussions, interviews and other convenings that provide insights into the ways small business owners approach hiring and training. It also provides recommendations for stakeholders to better engage their local small employers.
Not long after accepting a voluntary early retirement package from her long time employer, Southern California Edison, Pat Watts found herself yearning to be back at work. So, she turned to entrepreneurship by taking some of the money from her retirement package and starting her own business. Little did she know, her business would end up expanding across the nation and her workforce training program would focus-in on her own community.
When Camille Kustin visited Paul’s Automotive in Sacramento, Calif., for the first time, she didn’t plan to stay longer than it took technician Mike Spellman to repair her car. Seven years and three kids later, the two are working side by side at that very same shop, which Mike now owns.
It’s no secret that big businesses struggle to find skilled and credentialed employees. But this issue also impacts our nation’s job creators: small businesses. New scientific polling shows small businesses around the country believe lack of education, experience and training is one of biggest challenges they face when it comes to hiring and employment, and they’re willing to act to ensure they have the skilled workers they need to run their businesses.
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