National

Starting a business and starting a family at the same time is no easy feat. Just ask Chanceé Lundy, a new mom who is also co-owner of Nspiregreen LLC in Washington, D.C.

“The cost of child care can be incredibly burdensome for small businesses, especially in large cities,” Chanceé said. “Since I had a child, I’ve had to be very disciplined in juggling my time–particularly because child care facilities where I live are very expensive and typically have a waiting list of one year or more. This can be crippling to a new business owner who did not foresee these issues.”

Despite months of speeches, speculation and tweets suggesting that the federal government would not continue to provide critical payments that support the Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplaces, President Trump still has yet to announce a final decision on the future of cost-sharing reduction subsidies (CSRs), which help reduce out-of-pocket healthcare costs for low and moderate-income enrollees.

Are you a small business owner looking for alternative funding options beyond a traditional bank loan? A CDFI loan might be the answer you’ve been looking for.

While traditional bank lending is down, organizations called community development financial institutions, or CDFIs, are stepping up to fill the void by focusing on supporting small businesses and local economies in a holistic way. So what is a CDFI?

Michelle Mauricci, a true entrepreneur, has owned not one, not two, but three small businesses. Her current business, Think Possible, located in Reno, Nevada, is a personal business-consulting firm that helps entrepreneurs navigate their health coverage options under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), among other services. Michelle also receives her own coverage through the ACA’s individual marketplace, and credits the healthcare law with allowing her to follow her entrepreneurial dreams.

Whether or not Republicans eventually succeed in repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act (ACA), it is increasingly obvious that the debate over the future of healthcare is creating so much uncertainty that irreparable damage may have already been done to the ACA.

Earlier this month, the administration announced a proposal to sunset online enrollment for the federal small business health insurance marketplace, otherwise known as SHOP. It’s one more example of how the administration is determined to undo as much of the Affordable Care Act as possible, despite the fact that it's helping small business owners, their employees, and millions of Americans gain coverage.

Entrepreneurs in the United States have a long wishlist of things they would like to see lawmakers do that would help improve their businesses. From tax reform to healthcare changes, there are plenty of ways politicians could make life better for America’s job creators.

Everyone knows that reforming America’s tax system is among the tougher tasks lawmakers consider every year, which is why our tax code has undergone few significant changes over the last two decades. This slow pace of progress, however, is deeply harmful to small businesses that are consistently held back by tax rules that favor large corporations while hindering small firms.

When it comes to employee benefits, the difference between working for a small business and a large corporation can be the difference between eating at a buffet and dining a la carte: neither are bad options, but one usually offers more choices than the other. Unfortunately, far too many lawmakers in Washington, D.C. fail to understand that small businesses often do not have the resources to offer a buffet of benefits, which can result in high employee turnover.

Some lawmakers may be intent on repealing and replacing the Patient Protection & Affordable Care Act (ACA), but our new scientific opinion polling released today shows small business owners support the ACA over the American Health Care Act (AHCA), the Republican plan to replace the law currently being considered in Congress.

Here are 5 key takeaways from our poll: