20 stories for 20 years: Looking ahead

Q: What will be the keys to advancing pro-small business policies in the future?

John: The key to advancing pro-small business policies is to get everyone who shapes policy decisions from the federal level to the state level to the local level to recognize and understand the role that small businesses play in our economy. Because even at the local level, where a member of the city council has friends who own small businesses, officials still tend to bend over backward to attract big businesses to their city thinking it will create jobs. Simultaneously, these same officials are often stymeing local business growth through burdensome regulations – and that’s limiting job creation.

The best way to address the gap between big and small business awareness is by uplifting small business voices. Small Business Majority provides small business owners with an easy-to-access platform to speak directly to lawmakers, understanding that entrepreneurs have to take the time away from running their businesses to share their stories – which we know can be a challenge. 

This is vitally important because too many people in power conflate the needs of big businesses with those of small businesses. In reality, they are very different. Take tariffs, for example. While big businesses can better withstand supply chain and price disruptions and negotiate tariff waivers, small businesses on their own simply don’t have that kind of power or influence. Similarly, small business owners do not have the profit margins of big corporations to sustain rapidly increasing healthcare costs for themselves and their employees. And, as large corporate power continues to grow and consolidate, small businesses need a voice that can push for truly fair competition.

John: The dialogue around small business needs should be better reflected in our political debates. Unfortunately, we haven’t yet made the small business perspective ubiquitous across every policy and political discussion. This is primarily because small business voices are often drowned out by those of other powerful constituencies – those who have more money to spend on lobbying and elections. I really want to change that dynamic, and make small business a “go-to” constituency for every elected official and thought leader. 

John: One of the things I’ve learned over 20 years is that even though issue advocacy and education are critically important when it comes to bringing about positive changes for small businesses, those things are two legs of a three-legged stool. In today’s increasingly polarized political environment it has become very difficult to build consensus, and even issues that were once solidly bipartisan are now much less so. As such, we must create an environment where political leaders are held accountable at the ballot box to the needs and aspirations of America’s 36 million entrepreneurs, especially the vast majority of whom are very small and reside in our most under-resourced communities. Moreover, we need to empower our future leaders as they embark on their political journeys to truly understand the importance of small businesses to their communities and the economy.