Small Business Owners And Entrepreneurs Are The Backbone Of Any Community!

Small Business Owners And Entrepreneurs Are The Backbone Of Any Community!

By Jerry Miller

Small business owners and entrepreneurs are the backbone of any community. They are the folks who are driving our economy forward. They are creating jobs. They are willing to put their life savings, their home equity lines, their credit cards and everything else on the line to make something happen.

We should embrace small business owners and entrepreneurs. We should put them on pedestals and champion their efforts and endeavors. These are the people who are going to make the community stronger; the ones who are invested in making sure the community heads in the right direction.

Small business owners and entrepreneurs say, “I’m going to risk all this because I see an opportunity on the horizon.” This opportunity, if executed successfully, will create taxable revenue for our community. It will create new jobs for our community. It will create a better future for the families in the small business, and, in turn, a better future for our community in totality.

I get frustrated with bureaucratic nonsense and the red tape that interferes or distracts a small business owner and his or her team. That’s the last thing we need. Our local municipalities, our state and federal governments should make running a business and being an entrepreneur easier and not more difficult.

I’m speaking from 11+ years of experience. It’s hard. It’s so damn hard. Yes, we have enjoyed success. We own the lion-share of a building in Downtown Charlottesville and other positions in Albemarle County. We own the top advertising agency in Central Virginia.

But you know what?

I keep that all in perspective every single day by doing the jobs that no one else on the team wants to do. I take the trash out. I clean the filth off the toilets. I vacuum the floors. I never take this success for granted because I remember what it was like in 2008 launching my business in a recession. It was so freakin’ hard.

The last thing we need are our municipalities making it more difficult for small business owners and entrepreneurs. I’m working seven days a week busting my tail. I’ve taken one vacation in 11+ years, and every single person that’s successful as a small business owner is doing a version of the same damn thing.

We should make it easier for folks that want to put their “you know what” on the line and create jobs and drive revenue and make the community better. This must be the goal for all our elected officials. It is up to us as a voting public to hold all our elected officials accountable until they understand this commonsense concept.