Small Business Letter From America – What about the economy?

I’m really delighted to welcome Becky McCray to the blog as a regular contributor with her Small Business Letter from America. I’m sure, like me, you’ll enjoy her contributions, and unique perspective on small business.

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We small business owners just can’t make up our minds in America. Though we’re constantly hit with negative economic news, first one survey says small business owners are optimistic, then the next says we’re worried.

Here’s what I mean. Yesterday’s Administaff’s survey shows that we think our small businesses are growing even faster than we expected. That’s immediately followed by a survey from the National Association of Self-Employed that says we’re worried about even being able to pay our home mortgages. Those are just two examples out of dozens of recent surveys of the mood of small business people, with plenty of conflicting results.

Some where between our worry and our optimism, business goes on. We keep trying new things, seeing if we can improve our customers’ lives. Some businesses will fail this year, and some new ones will start. As small business owners, we are a bit different. We don’t wait for just the right timing. Our business is how we make our living. We can’t just sit out the rough economic patches.  All we can control is our attitude and our actions.

A very successful business in my home town of Alva, Oklahoma, has a small sign up that says, "I don’t care who throws the recession, this business does not plan to attend." They’ve had it up for years; decades, actually. They have survived since our town’s pioneer days, and continue to thrive in the face of competition from the huge retail chain. The current owner of that business told me that when he bought it nearly 50 years ago, his business plan was simple. He had to succeed to feed his family. So he did. That’s a pretty simple plan. His business continues to innovate. Even though he could have retired years ago, the owner continues to take training and learn new skills for his customers. He can’t control the economy, but he does all he can to succeed.

So even though we aren’t sure what is coming next, small business people are moving forward. That’s what we do.

Becky is a small town entrepreneur in America. She writes about small business and rural issues, based on her own success and failures, at her blog Small Biz Survival. She is the co-owner of a small town retail liquor store and cattle ranch. She also helps tourism related businesses from Oklahoma to Africa to maintain their web presence and rural nonprofits and governments with grant writing and project administration. http://www.smallbizsurvival.com/