Is this a great time to be in business for yourself or what? At least, that’s been our impression for a couple of years now.
Why? One important reason has been the improvement, albeit slow, in the overall economy. At least, small-business operators we talk to or email with generally have seemed more optimistic in recent years.
So I was interested in a survey released last Tuesday that confirmed the impression.
What was billed as the first-ever Allstate/USA Today Small Business Barometer concluded that there is “a strong business environment in the country overall and a groundswell of optimism among local entrepreneurs with a majority (53 percent) saying rapid innovation and an improving economy make now the best time ever to own a small business.”
The best time ever? Really?
Well, yeah. Maybe so. Take the mention of rapid innovation. That touches on a tectonic trend. The explosion in technology has made so many business functions easier, faster and cheaper. What used to require a whole department in a corporation can now be done by a software program and an intern. And, of course, technology and social media allow small businesses to reach out to potential customers in ways unimagined just a few years ago.
Oh, sure, there are still plenty of challenges. More than half (54 percent) said that getting new clients is tough; many complained that prices for materials and equipment are going up, and 40 percent described the regulatory climate as “burdensome.” And some other surveys say business people are starting to fret about the future of the economy. (See page 10.)
But what stood out in that Allstate/USA Today survey was that “groundswell of optimism.” In fact, optimism received the highest score among the eight subjects questioned in the survey. And optimism was extremely high among black business owners followed by Hispanic business owners and women business owners.
Something the survey didn’t touch on is this: There’s been a near-complete breakdown of the old compact between big companies and their workers. Big businesses today unload loyal employees faster than Ben Carson lost voters in the last month. In the past, an employee who stayed with a big company was seen as stable. Today, that employee is more likely to be seen as playing with fire careerwise.
In this new environment, it is not surprising that those who walk out of a big company to start their own little one may indeed feel a sense of relief and freedom. Armed with today’s technology and boosted by the healthier economy, they may feel empowered like never before. And they may well conclude that this is the best time ever to be a small-business owner.
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If you were looking forward to a 15-minute high-speed train trip from Burbank to the Antelope Valley, you will have to wait … well, years more.
As you may have seen, the California High-Speed Rail Authority recently decided to switch construction of the first leg of the bullet train to favor San Francisco instead of Los Angeles. It was supposed to go from Fresno south to Burbank. Instead, it will run from Bakersfield north to San Jose.
The switch to a flat-land route means construction can begin much earlier. The builders will avoid having to tunnel through the Tehachapi and Santa Monica mountains.
You can’t help but wonder if that was a political maneuver to get as many miles of track down as soon as possible to keep the whole project from being killed. There’s been talk for some time that voters should have a do-over on the bullet train, which is way over budget, behind schedule and sinking in popularity.
So if there is to be a new vote, the task of organizing it should be given to a high-speed authority of a different sort: the kind that can get the issue on the ballot quickly.
Charles Crumpley is editor of the Business Journal. He can be reached at [email protected].
