The Game is Rigged - Said the Small Business Person
The other day, I was talking to a small business person who had started their company in 2010, had gotten an SBA loan, and once he got the ball rolling, he was blown away at how fast his capital was being drained by delayed permits, extra fees, and additional rules which he had never heard of.
Many of which didn't even make sense, and yet, he was forced to comply or he couldn't open his store.
Okay so talk about this for second shall we.
You see, as the founder for a think tank, and as a former franchisor now retired, I've done a little consulting, and one thing I always tell business owners is that it will most likely take you twice as long to get your business up and running and you'll spend three times what you originally anticipated.
When I explained this to him he frowned because he doesn't have three times the money he borrowed, and he only borrowed what he thought he needed, and he can't get any more money.
Although his store is now started, and he starting to make a little money, he explained to me that he is not taking home any money himself, and fears it may be a couple years until he actually makes a profit.
He's wondering if he can hold out that long, meanwhile there are so many rules and regulations that every time he turned around he seems to be paying more money for something else.
He explained that he had to comply with various rules, but his major big box store competitors didn't have too.
In fact he explained how the city had given them a sales tax waiver for four years.
He didn't get any deal like that from the city, and his big box competition due to their economies of scale have lower prices than he has, and now they get a waiver on the city's share of the sales tax revenue.
It seems unfair, and he told me he thought that the game was rigged.
From his perspective I agree, the game is rigged, and we are preventing our small business community from expanding and providing the jobs that we need in the US, which as you know it has been said to be the number one goal of nearly every politician who's been elected in the last three years.
If they really wanted to increase jobs, they would reduce the burden on our smaller companies.
But they aren't doing that because most of the people who fund their campaigns are the larger companies with the big lobbyists, who need to ensure that the rules are made in their favor, and therefore provide barriers to entry preventing small businesses from competing.
Is the game rigged? I would submit to you that it is, and that this acquaintance of mine that I talked to at Starbucks over cup of coffee is absolutely correct.
Indeed I hope you will please consider all this and think on it.
Many of which didn't even make sense, and yet, he was forced to comply or he couldn't open his store.
Okay so talk about this for second shall we.
You see, as the founder for a think tank, and as a former franchisor now retired, I've done a little consulting, and one thing I always tell business owners is that it will most likely take you twice as long to get your business up and running and you'll spend three times what you originally anticipated.
When I explained this to him he frowned because he doesn't have three times the money he borrowed, and he only borrowed what he thought he needed, and he can't get any more money.
Although his store is now started, and he starting to make a little money, he explained to me that he is not taking home any money himself, and fears it may be a couple years until he actually makes a profit.
He's wondering if he can hold out that long, meanwhile there are so many rules and regulations that every time he turned around he seems to be paying more money for something else.
He explained that he had to comply with various rules, but his major big box store competitors didn't have too.
In fact he explained how the city had given them a sales tax waiver for four years.
He didn't get any deal like that from the city, and his big box competition due to their economies of scale have lower prices than he has, and now they get a waiver on the city's share of the sales tax revenue.
It seems unfair, and he told me he thought that the game was rigged.
From his perspective I agree, the game is rigged, and we are preventing our small business community from expanding and providing the jobs that we need in the US, which as you know it has been said to be the number one goal of nearly every politician who's been elected in the last three years.
If they really wanted to increase jobs, they would reduce the burden on our smaller companies.
But they aren't doing that because most of the people who fund their campaigns are the larger companies with the big lobbyists, who need to ensure that the rules are made in their favor, and therefore provide barriers to entry preventing small businesses from competing.
Is the game rigged? I would submit to you that it is, and that this acquaintance of mine that I talked to at Starbucks over cup of coffee is absolutely correct.
Indeed I hope you will please consider all this and think on it.