Pennsylvania Small Business Owner Highlight

It only took a six-minute drive home from a friend’s house for Andrea Deutsch to arrive at a business concept that would make the one-time lawyer into the proud owner of a pet store that’s equal parts Whole Foods and L.L. Bean.

In other words, Pennsylvania’s pampered pet utopia.

“Spot’s – The Place for Paws” is Deutsch’s six-minute epiphany come to life; still the cat’s meow after 11 years in business in Narberth, PA.

Pennsylvania Events

Wednesday, May 21, 2025 | 2:00pm ET

Have you ever wanted to apply for a grant opportunity, but didn't know where to start? Join Small Business Majority, in partnership with Verizon Small Business Digital Ready, to learn how to identify and apply for grants that could help you start or grow your small business.

Workshop | National
Thursday, May 22, 2025 | 5:00pm PT

Join Small Business Majority and the Coalition of Filipino-American Chamber of Commerce (COFACC) for a webinar aimed at celebrating and supporting the AAPI community.

Webinar | National
Tuesday, June 10, 2025 | 5:00pm ET

Join Small Business Majority, Business Consortium Fund and U.S. Bank for a free virtual workshop on building strong business credit.

Workshop | National

Pennsylvania Policy

Browse our latest state-based regulatory comments and legislative testimony in this area below, or click the button to view all records.
Monday, February 10, 2025

Small Business Majority has created recommendations to capture our policy priorities that would help to ensure a thriving and inclusive economy in Pennsylvania. The state is comprised of more than 1.1 million small businesses employing 2.5 million people.

Tuesday, June 18, 2024

Today, Public Policy Director, Awesta Sarkash, submitted a letter of support for SB 580, The Family Care Act. SB 580 would create a paid family and medical leave insurance fund in Pennsylvania. This program would allow small business owners to access and offer this benefit to their employees, helping them overcome challenges in the workforce. 

Monday, December 11, 2023

Today, Awesta Sarkash, Public Policy Director, submitted a letter of support for HB 181, the Family Care Act. The bill would create a paid family and medical leave insurance fund in state and allow small business owners to access and offer this benefit to their employees, helping them overcome challenges in the workforce. 

Pennsylvania Research

Published:
Thu, 10/24/2024
Small business owner caring for family

Small business owners across the Keystone State know it makes good business sense to take care of the people who work for them. However, they often struggle to provide key benefits, including paid family and medical leave, which they believe would help them recruit and retain their workers. With small businesses struggling to compete with large companies that can offer attractive benefits packages, it should come as no surprise that they support establishing a comprehensive paid family and medical leave program that would make it easier for them to facilitate their employees’ access to the paid time off they need to support their families while keeping their jobs.

Published:
Wed, 02/01/2023

Small businesses in Pennsylvania are still struggling to hire and retain a ready workforce, persistent challenges in the wake of the pandemic.

Published:
Wed, 01/25/2023

While small businesses employ nearly half (46.4%) of the private workforce in the United States, many are struggling to hire and retain a ready workforce. One viable solution to their persistent workforce challenges is the passing of Clean Slate policies, which seal and expunge certain criminal records and allow justice-impacted individuals to seek employment opportunities and entrepreneurship. Individual state analyses of small business responses in Georgia, Illinois, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Texas found widespread support for Clean Slate policies at the state and federal level.