Momentum can be good thing if your business is really rocking and clicking on all cylinders. Growth is occurring, customers are happy, employees are happy, life is good.
On the other hand momentum can be a negative if things are going the wrong way, it is very hard to change old ways of being as a person and operating as a business.
Yesterday I had a chance to interview Andrew Langer of the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB.com) about the momentum in government regulation requirements for small business. Trust me the momentum is going in the wrong direction in this regard.
Did you know that the cost to a small business to meet government compliance is $7,700 per employee for a firm with less than 20 employees?
He highlighted two new websites that small businesses can use to help them manage this challenge. Business.gov and Regulation.gov, each of which is designed to help the small business owner learn and manage their way through the governement regulation challenge.
Listen to my conversation with Andrew Langer of the NFIB
Great show with Andrew, Steve. Well done!
It’s not just the costs - the time the small business owner has to invest to comply is just too much.
In the long run this will lead to less and less people willing to operate a small business. And history shows that the initial bureaucratic answer is to raise fees…
There are many good points in your article. I would like to supplement them with some information.
For an all volunteer site, dedicated to small businesses who wish to succeed in federal government Contracting please see the below site:
http://www.smalltofeds.blogspot.com/
The federal government will contract in excess of $80B to small businesses in the next fiscal year.
There are over 50 agencies or “Departments” in the federal fovernment. Each of these agencies has a statutory obligation to contract from small business for over 20% of everything it buys.
Contracting officers must file reports annually demonstrating they have fulfilled this requirement. Not fulfilling the requirement can put agency annual funding in jeopardy. Small business has a motivated customer in federal government contracting officers and buyers.
Large business,under federal procurement law, must prepare and submit annual “Small Business Contracting Plans” for approval by the local Defense Contract Management Area Office (DCMAO) nearest their headquarters. These plans must include auditable statistics regarding the previous 12 month period in terms of contracting to small businesses and the goals forecast for the next year.
The federal government can legally terminate a contract in a large business for not meeting small business contracting goals. Approved small business plans must accompany large business contract proposals submitted to federal government agencies. Small businesses have motivated customers in large business subcontract managers, administrators and buyers.
There are setaside opportunities available for small entities,veterans, disabled veterans, women and minorities. All it takes is navigating the system, persistance,asking questions,registering,marketing, teaming and work hard.
Americans are good at that.