Small Business Letter From America – holding our breath

Small business owners are waiting through some serious uncertainty.

National policies will be changing in a few months as the new Congress and new President take over in January. How will their policies affect small business? We can’t even guess. Lots of different ideas are being discussed, but we can’t be sure of what will be passed or how it will get implemented.

We read the news, and we know there are still more potential problems out there. Since we are even more uncertain of the future than normal, we’re kind of holding our breath.

A construction engineer in Oklahoma City told me that many major construction projects in the state are being stopped or put on hold, some at the last minute. An Oklahoma electrical utility company has announced it has delayed plans to work on power lines.

Still, new businesses are opened every day. Every day, people show up at my small business site, looking for the checklist to start a new business or a simplified business plan. A new pizza place just opened in my small town. You probably see new businesses opening around you, as well.

Countless small business owners, including you, work every day to keep things moving. Even when we’re unsure, or facing a tough time, we’re sticking with it.

Take this as a reminder to support your local small businesses. Not just your retail shops, but also your local service providers, small manufacturers, and local food producers.

We may be holding our breath, but are we still moving ahead.

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/