Everyone knows the stories behind tech behemoths Apple and Google. We admire the role they play in our economy and appreciate the products and services they offer. However, there are millions of little-known smaller businesses that are the bedrock for American prosperity.
The people who start these businesses may not climb mountains or jump out of airplanes, but they are risk-takers non-the less. All of us benefit from a world of choices thanks to the efforts of the men and women who start small businesses.
I have a soft spot for entrepreneurs because I grew up watching my father successfully start multiple small businesses. He didn’t spend a single day in college. Instead, he learned the basics by running his father’s bike shop. That set the stage for successfully running athletic and appliance stores. In addition, he produced Tarzan movies and a murder mystery. Without skipping a beat he moved on to create two computer related businesses and turned a failing meat processing business profitable. No doubt he learned some valuable lessons during his four years in the Army Air Corp during W.W.II
As a Jew growing up in Denver where there were “no Jews allowed” (NJA) country clubs, Jew-free unions and Klan parades, my father chose not to be a victim. He didn’t wait for the government to set his course or subsidize his achievements.
After all victimhood in pursuit of government largess nurtures dependency and entitlement. He created businesses that paid taxes instead of taking other peoples hard won earnings through the bureaucratic maze of government.
Along the way he displayed not one ounce of bravado. Instead of kvetching about a lack of opportunity he aggressively went after it. You see that is the way it works in a free market. One doesn’t demand opportunity. One works to find it, takes advantage once found and opens doors for others.
Entrepreneurs don’t pontificate about a lost American Dream. They pledge all they have or borrow in pursuit of the Dream. They don’t expect to be bailed out by the government if they fail. They view failures along the way as expected hurdles not dead ends.
I understand that in high tax, regulation and cost of living states like California, the Dream has faded. However, smart businessmen and businesswomen move in the direction of opportunity. They migrate to the states where the American Dream has not been handcuffed.
I remember times when my dad was under immense pressure. Not once did I hear him complain about a rigged system or WASP privilege. I think he knew a secret that too many of us have forgotten. Perfect equality will never come. Opportunity is not precisely distributed in proportionate amounts. In America, the least privileged willing to work hard have a better chance for success and happiness then in any nation on earth. If we were to find ourselves in a state of perfect equality we’d probably be in heaven.
Small business people are not lionized at our universities or in popular culture. They do not receive special tax exemptions for their public service. They just create the jobs that provide the services and products that help America hum and pay its bills.
Don’t ever underestimate the expertise hidden behind those storefronts and in those small warehouses.
What might appear as just the corner deli, dress shop, small manufacturer or service enterprise is only the facade. Behind those doors are people who posses skills and expertise that is unique to each and every business. Ask anyone who has ever started or run a business about the myriad of unanticipated bits of knowledge necessary to master their craft.
Nine to five is only a catchy lyric for small businesspeople. They are at work six or seven days a week and they are always on call. The boss shoulders the ultimate responsibility. The payroll must be met, customers and bank obligations satisfied, rent paid, a dizzying array of regulations followed and of course those debilitating taxes. The glitzy benefits of success are most often realized after years of hard work.
Maybe if they don’t go broke, with a little luck and after a decade or more of toil they manage to make a nice buck and hire reliable managers to ease their load. It is exactly at that moment of fulfillment and financial ease that some would derisively label them members of the dreaded one percent.
Not everyone is cut out for this high-pressure life style. If security and stability is your thing, then building a business is not for you. But for God’s sake give the risk takers the respect they deserve. They should be admired and appreciated as American heroes, not cursed as greedy capitalist.
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