Small Business Letter From America – SMB bright spots

Let me introduce you to a couple of small business owners from my area.

Con Pekrul and his father Hart grew their hobby of winemaking into a full time business. Over the last seven years, together they’ve gone from just making wine, to creating food products, targeting tourists and offering all sorts of locally-made products. Con is highly involved in his local community, and he constantly promotes other small town small businesses. Making the decision to relocate and expand was difficult.

“At the time we thought, can we afford this? Will this work?” Pekrul said. Their accountant said to try it, but she secretly thought they’d fail in six months. They are now starting on their seventh year in that location.

Tommy Hudson just started his business six months ago. He provides large waste container rental and waste disposal in a rural region. Before starting, he put in tons of work researching and preparing. One of his goals was to start a business that would let him move out of the big city, and back to a small town like the one he grew up in.

“It can be done,” Tommy said. “It can be done with limited means. It can be done from a humble background. I am just a guy that had an idea and put a plan together and sought the right advice and enough advice to convince myself really that it could be done.”

Both of these entrepreneurs have built growing small businesses in uncertain economic times, in depressed local economies. And business is good. Con says holiday sales have started off very strong. Tommy says there have been times this summer when he could have used 10 more units to rent out.

All across the country, America is full of stories like these. Small business owners are working hard, monitoring their finances, and learning new ways to succeed. These are the people who will create all the new jobs to rebuild the economy.

All of the new jobs will come from small business? Yes. Another small business person, Zane Safrit, interviewed Bob Graboyes, Senior Health Advisor at the National Federation of Independent Business and economics professor at George Mason University and Virginia Commonwealth University. Graboyes said 100% of new jobs are created by small business in a recession.

Con and Tommy are up to the challenge.

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/