These are challenging times for small businesses.
For owners, credit is tough to come by, rising gasoline and energy prices affect day-to-day operations, and the cost of health care continues to be a big issue.
“There?s a tremendous amount of caution,” said Ellen Valentino, Maryland director of the National Federation of Independent Businesses. “There are a lot of owners who are tightening their belts to make it to the next day.”
Add the effects of general economic slowdown, and it?s not a pretty picture for small businesses.
“This has the potential to really put a strain on the small-business economy,” Valentino said.
Sen. Benjamin Cardin, a member of the Senate?s Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, on Wednesday said small businesses are “the real engine of our economy” because they?re a source of new jobs and innovation. In conjunction with National Small Business Week, Cardin joined representatives from Maryland?s small-business community in a conference call to discuss the economic issues affecting small businesses.
Small businesses are significant contributors to Maryland?s economy, according to the Small Business Administration. The state is home to about 536,000 small businesses, of which about 137,000 are owned by women and about 115,000 are minority-owned. The sector employs about 53 percent of all Maryland workers.
Cardin said he?s optimistic the Small Business Contracting Revitalization Act will be approved this year and expand opportunities for small businesses to contract with the federal government. Other legislation has been introduced, including the Entrepreneurial Development Act, which would boost small-business counseling and assistance programs, along with other stimulus plans intended to fuel small-business growth, Cardin said.
“If we want to come out of these recessionary times, we?ve got to pay attention to the problems of small businesses,” Cardin said.
Karen Barbour, president of Westminster-based The Barbour Group, was recently honored as the SBA?s 2008 Maryland Small Business Person of the Year. Barbour, whose firm provides business insurance and risk analysis for commercial enterprises, said more opportunities for government contracts would be helpful, but there is a need for a state oversight committee.
“Maryland needs a group to make sure agencies are in compliance,” Barbour said. “It?s a lot for a small business to shoulder.”
