Small business owner and the forgotten constituency | Brunell

During the 1992 presidential campaign, the then candidate Bill Clinton intoned: “I feel your pain”, he calmed down the voters what they made through. Since then, similar explanations of empathy have become a staple for politicians. However, it does not always ring with every component.

For example, take small business owners.

Most chosen officials have no idea how to risk everything they have, or to make the salary statement for their employees and their families, since new regulations, higher taxes and additional approval fees threaten to drown them and their company.

A politician who got this first -hand experience was the former US senator and presidential candidate George McGovern (D).

In a Wall Street Journal column from 1992 “is a politician dream of a nightmare of a businessman”, McGovern described his experience with a Connecticut Hotel and a conference center. He went bankrupt, a failure that he had largely attributed to the local, state and federal regulations that were adopted with good intentions, but without understanding how they burdened small business owners.

McGovern was deeply affected by his failure and became a lawyer for the reform of the regulation and the lawsuit and said: “I wish I was first -hand over the difficulties in the years in the public office.”

While politicians often promote their support for small companies, they are least understood and the most overlooked.

These people put their savings on the line for 12 to 16 hours a day and strive to make rounds. They have no time to fight for political candidates or lobby chosen civil servants, but too often they believe that the main tax and fee increase and cumbersome regulations.

Family businesses are the economic backbone of America. According to Family Enterprise USA (Feusa) 2024 Data, the 32 million family businesses in America are our largest private employers who are 83.3 million jobs. They contribute 7.7 trillion dollars to the gross domestic product in the United States every year.

In Washington, a third of the companies are small (fewer than 500 employees) and family -owned.

Feusa found that more than 30 percent of all companies in the second generation will survive, but only 12 percent will still be profitable in the third.

There are many examples of family businesses in Washington who thrive in the third generation. One are Pearson packaging systems from Spokane, which was started in 1955.

The founder Lefty Pearson initially worked for a brewery and handmade six-pack bearing container. He invented an automated “Six-Pack Case Erector” in his garage.

Today Pearson is building machines for companies such as Dell, Procter & Gamble and Coca-Cola, sealing and pallets. The company has distributed more than 20,000 machines worldwide and has 225 employees with annual sales that is more than 100 million US dollars.

After Pearson died in 1971, his wife Alma and daughter Pam Senske entered to lead the company through the transition. Senske became an exceptionally successful CEO before handing over the company's reign to son Michael in 2003.

Pam died at the beginning of this year. Michael told the spokesman to check the employees of his esteemed company and implement a comprehensive service package to ensure the Work-Life equilibrium. She earned her loyalty, respect and trust.

The commitment of the employees and the estimated work are particularly important for family success in family success. Your reputation for customer satisfaction, quality work, timely service, innovation and friendliness spreads to word of mouth. Returning buyers are the key to every company.

Why are you grasped for our economy for our economy for our economy? Especially because they are too busy to stay competitive and raise families.

It would help if politicians had to sweat first to make a salary statement, to deal with a complex and costly labyrinth of state regulations and to deal with the uncertainty of business cycles and global competition.

It would help if you really felt your pain.

Don C. Brunell is a business analyst, author and columnist. He is a former president of the Association of Washington Business, the oldest and largest corporate organization in the state, and lives in Vancouver. Contact thebrunells@msn.com.