With Hector Barreto of Los Angeles, the new national small-business chief finally confirmed by the Senate, business owners and trade associations are preparing their strategies for influencing policymakers and legislators.
“As a successful small-business man, Hector Barreto knows first hand what makes Main Street tick,” said Jack Faris, president of the National Federation of Independent Business. “Now as head of the Small Business Administration, he will use that first-hand knowledge to help make the federal government more responsive to the very real problems facing small businesses across America.”
Faris said the NFIB looks forward to working with Barreto on strengthening the SBA’s Office of Advocacy, which acts as the “official voice of Main Street within the executive branch of government.”
If you didn’t like how the Clinton administration handled the issues you care about, stop complaining and get involved in the political process.
“If you don’t blow your own horn, someone will use it as a spittoon,” quipped Ted Fowler, chief executive of Golden Corral Corp., a chain with 460 family steak restaurants in 38 states, based in Raleigh, N.C.
Fowler, who also serves as vice chairman of the 230,000-member National Restaurant Association (NRA), said business owners could make a big difference if they make their opinions known to lawmakers. For example, he said grassroots lobbying efforts by restaurant owners lessened the financial impact of the Clinton Administration’s minimum wage increase. Although the association didn’t prevent Congress from increasing the federal minimum wage to $5.15 an hour, efforts by restaurant owners pushed lawmakers to include training tax incentives, which made the increase less painful.
“If you own a restaurant or any small business, it’s vitally important to be involved politically at the grassroots level,” said Steven Anderson, president of the NRA. “We literally storm the Hill (Capitol Hill) during our public affairs conference in September. The legislators know when the restaurant owners are in town.”
Most restaurants small
Anderson said thousands of small-business owners belong to his group, since 70 percent of America’s eateries employ 20 people or less and post annual sales of under $500,000.
While you may think you are too busy running your business to be active in politics, consider how state, local and federal policies affect your bottom line. Health and safety regulations, environmental standards, labor laws and the tax code all impact the way you manage your company’s affairs.
“The key thing for a small-business owner is to personalize an issue and explain to employees how a government action can affect the business, positively or negatively,” said Amy Showalter, a Columbus, Ohio-based consultant who helps big and small companies become politically active.
“Small-business owners have a great advantage because they have a personal relationship with their employees,” said Showalter. “Once you inform them about an issue, then, help them get involved.”
Showalter managed grassroots political efforts for Nationwide Insurance for about 10 years before starting her own firm, Showalter Group. Her expertise is creating presentations and conducting workshops aimed at tapping the political power of employees.
“Many small- or medium-sized companies don’t have the financial resources to hire lobbyists,” said Showalter. “However, you have a rich resource in your employees.”
Getting the word out
She said even the busiest entrepreneur can quickly obtain current legislative information from their trade or professional association and pass it along to employees via e-mail, company newsletters, meetings with supervisors, paycheck inserts or bathroom-stall posters.
“Posters work really well because you have a captive audience, and people read that stuff,” said Showalter. “You can also call a staff meeting and say there are things happening that will impact our business.”
Showalter suggests building political awareness by hosting a voter-registration drive for your employees. Or, invite local politicians to visit your company. If you are located near the state capital, organize a field trip for a few employees to meet with legislators.
“The No. 1 way to communicate with your legislator is face to face,” she said. “No. 2 is a personal letter, and three, a phone call. E-mail and faxes are way down the line.”
“The groups that get in front of the lawmaker, eyeball to eyeball, have the advantage over those who are sending mails,” she said, adding that, “the key question a politician asks himself or herself when meeting with constituents is, “who is more likely to vote against me?”
Sue Pechilio, director of political programs for the Association for Advanced Life Underwriting, hired Showalter to conduct a workshop for 20 members of the 2,000-member trade association. She said all of her association’s members own their own agencies that sell sophisticated insurance products to high net worth clients.
“We do have our own lobbyist, but our members are our best lobbyists,” she said. Encouraging the leading agents to become involved in politics is easy, she said, “because our industry is regulated by the tax code. We remind them, these lawmakers are legislating how our members will be selling their insurance products to the public.”
Jane Applegate is the author of “201 Great Ideas for Your Small Business,” and is CEO of SBTV.com, a multimedia site providing small-business resources. She can be contacted via e-mail at , or by mail at P.O. Box 768, Pelham, NY 10803.
