Is Business the Enemy?
I’ve watched with interest this past week as demonstrators around the United States have gathered to protest activities related to the economy, what’s happening on Wall Street, and the activities of businesses around the country. People have gathered daily in cities across the country including recently here in Indiana in South Bend and Indianapolis.
Attendance and message have varied widely, with people seeking an avenue to blow off some steam about their economic and political related frustrations. The issues are all over the spectrum, including global warming, gas prices, corporate greed, tuition hikes, the protection of unions and collective bargaining, capitalism, banks, greed, bailouts, foreclosures, taxes, foreign wars, income inequality, and the Federal Reserve just to name a few.
I am grateful that we live in a Country where we can gather and express ourselves and I applaud people’s efforts to be engaged and involved. My hope is that their attention turns to meaningful engagement and involvement and a spirit of working towards some common goals. Their strategy can’t be merely second guessing the strategies of others. I look forward to reading more about their suggestions for improving our economy.
Most disappointing to me to come out of these discussions is the picture that I think often times is painted of business and the men and women that operate those businesses. While we all could agree that we’ve seen some unscrupulous business people throughout time that have tried to take advantage of others, for the most part business leaders are just ordinary people trying to make a living and provide for their family.
Business leaders are often those people that live next door, that we sit next to in church on Sunday, that we pass when we are walking in the park, or that we are standing behind when we are waiting to check out at the grocery store. They also are the ones that we see leading the United Way campaigns, supporting the school programs, and making other contributions in our community to help those that are less fortunate. They really don’t look any different than you or me.
The difference sometimes is that these are men and women that have taken a significant risk to pursue a business idea or new service. Often times they have borrowed heavily from friends and family, mortgaged their and their family’s homes, and made personal guarantees to get their business off the ground. They enter understanding the reality that they could be successful and provide a better life for their family, or that they could lose it all.
The deck may be stacked against them. No one starts a business with the intention of failing, but the numbers suggest failure is more likely than success. Less than half of all businesses that start-up survives four years. Restaurants that start-up have only a twenty percent chance they will survive two years. In recent years, more businesses fail annually than start up. Business owners are left fighting these odds, trying to keep their head above water, and struggling to provide for their families and those in their employment.
I hope we are careful to not paint all businesses and business leaders with the same broad brush. Today, small businesses make up more than ninety eight percent of all employers and annually create sixty to eighty percent of the new jobs in our community. Those businesses are vital to our local economy and a key part of our efforts to revive a stagnant economy. Without people being willing to take risks, we wouldn’t have jobs.
My hope is that we are creating an environment that encourages entrepreneurs to take risks, and that we develop the tools necessary to help make them be successful. I’m also hoping that we come to understand and remember that businesses play an important part in our life every day and that working together, business and community leaders can help revive our local economy. Business isn’t the enemy, but instead an important partner to our revitalization efforts.
By Jeff Rea, President & CEO, The Chamber of Commerce of St. Joseph County
