Don't Take This Sitting Down! Small-business legislation needs to move forward, so get out there and do something about it.
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"I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take thisanymore!" Ever since these words were shouted by fictional TVanchor Howard Beale in the 1976 movie classic Network,millions of us have shared the sentiment. Maybe some of you evendid what Beale suggested and shared your anger. I know I wrotethose very words in this space several years ago.
I hate being repetitive, but in this case, I AM mad as hell andI'm NOT going to take this anymore. And you should all bejoining me in my outrage. Why am I so mad? Well, I'm angry onyour behalf. There are so many empty words and promises beinguttered in support of entrepreneurs that it's hard to keeptrack. Politicians (from both parties) regularly proclaim howimportant you are to the economy, how vital you are to thenation's future and how they always have your best interests inmind.
Sounds great, right? It would be, if it were true. Butunfortunately, too much of what's promised will never bedelivered. That should make you mad.
It's not like you entrepreneurs are silent. Numerous surveysshow the good--and the bad. A few months ago, OPEN: The SmallBusiness Network from American Express released its semiannualsmall-business survey. Among other promising projections, 85percent of small businesses expect their companies to grow over thenext six months, up significantly from last spring'snumbers.
Given this positive outlook, one would expect you'd begetting a helping hand so you can concentrate on growing yourbusiness. But you're not.
And the outlook isn't all rosy. Other surveys show you haveconcerns, and complying with myriad federal regulations is one ofthem. In January 2003, congressman John Sweeney (R-NY) introducedthe National Small Business Regulatory Assistance Act in the House.The bill directs the SBA to establish a pilot program providingentrepreneurs with regulatory compliance assistance throughparticipating Small Business Development Centers. In April 2003,the House, which doesn't seem to agree on much these days,agreed on the merits of this bill and passed it by an overwhelming417 to 4. Now, more than two years later, not much else hashappened. Don Wilson, head of the Association of SBDCs, isfrustrated that this bill is stuck. Congresswoman NydiaVelázquez (D-NY), who regularly debates issues in our"Point/Counterpoint" column and is the ranking minoritymember of the House Committee on Small Business, told me howimportant the Sweeney bill is for entrepreneurs. "Smallbusinesses clearly need this type of assistance,"Velázquez says. "It is a shame it has been stalled [inCongress] when many of our nation's entrepreneurs are in needof these types of services."
A similar bill was re-introduced in the Senate by Sens. JohnKerry (D-MA) and John Ensign (R-NV), also more than 2 years ago.Sen. Kerry's office recently told Entrepreneur he wouldre-reintroduce the bill shortly. (It may have happened by the timeyou read this.) So far, the Senate has not passed thelegislation.
We don't have to take this anymore. Instead of just shoutingabout how mad we are, let's do something about it. Sometimetoday, call, write, or e-mail your congressional representatives aswell as the House Committee on Small Business and the SenateCommittee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship. Tell themyou're a business owner and you're tired of the emptyrhetoric. Tell them to support H.R. 230 and S.1255.
