By the Bootstraps

More than 300 supporters of President Barack Obama’s push for health care reform gathered in Chicago’s Federal Plaza Tuesday evening. The crowd listened as national and local figures – for example Gov. Pat Quinn, Illinois State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias and former Cigna executive Wendell Potter – gave speeches on the need for quality health care and an end to denying coverage to those with pre-existing conditions.

The national health care reform debate has an affect on small businesses. Critics of Obama’s $1 trillion health-care makeover say its mandate that employers help pay for employee’s health care will deter small business owners from hiring (a big no-no considering small businesses hire 40 percent of the nation’s work force). Entrepreneurs whose businesses have a payroll of less than $250,000 are exempt but “businesses that do not offer health coverage to their workers would pay an 8 percent payroll tax to help subsidize coverage,” according to the New York Times’s “You’re the Boss” blog. This tallies up to 5 percent of businesses in the country who will feel the pinch in their revenues.

According to the Census Bureau, the average revenue of firms of this size was $1,768,000 in 2002. So these businesses will pay about 2 percent of their revenue as a penalty under the new law. That doesn’t sound like a lot, but it actually is.

Through the writer’s calculations, “You’re the Boss” says that these businesses stand to lose 39 percent of their revenue under tax policy.

It’s clear this debate isn’t as black and white as either side would have one believe.

The owner of Logan Square’s Mega Mall – which is home to 70 businesses – continues to battle with Chicago officials who want the property. Officials have “already taken steps that would eventually lead to a sale under eminent domain,” Chicagotalks reports.

Closing the shopping center would have both positive and negative effects. According to the report, officials want the site to become a park as part of its initiative to bring open spaces to the West Side neighborhood; the idea of a grocery store has also been thrown around for this “food desert,” an area with limited access to healthy food options. However the 70 business owners at the Mega Mall will lose their businesses – relocation in this economy may be a daunting prospect for some owners.

For more on this story, read the article “Future of Logan Square Mega Mall in Limbo” at local blog Chicagotalks.

Photo credit: “Sterile mall”

In the video from the last entry, President Obama had this message for small business owner’s across the nation:

I want to say to every American running a small business or hoping to run a small business one day. You deserve a chance. America needs you to have that chance. As president, I will continue to do everything in my power to ensure you have the opportunity to contribute to your community, to our economy and to the future of the United States of America.

Want to know exactly how he plans to go about that? Here’s a PDF of his and Vice President Joe Biden’s plans for small businesses. You can also check Politifact for updates and explanations of his campaign promises.

Obama and Biden’s Small Business Initiatives

Something very prevalent in the world of small businesses is their inability to get loans. The lack of liquidity in the credit market makes it hard to get a loan, even for small businesses with the best of credit. Since many believe small businesses can propel the nation out of the recession, I wondered what President Barack Obama’s plans were to address the issue. read more »

I was walking down Sheridan Avenue in Evanston near the Northwestern campus when a man asked me if I would like a free sandwich.

Being the impoverished graduate student I am, my immediate response was “Yes!”

He handed me a flier for Wilddogz, a sandwich shop on 1625 Chicago Avenue. The flier included three coupons – a Greek Combo Plate packed with food for $6.99; buy one sandwich, get one free; and $5.00 off any order of $25 or more. A new eating option four blocks away from campus just became available to me because of the business’ use of street solicitation.

I usually don’t use those kind of fliers (though I always accept them because I feel so bad for the employees), but its convenience makes me more likely to check out Wilddogz.

Would you visit a business after receiving a coupon/flier?

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Wilddogz, 1625 Chicago Ave., Evanston, IL (847) 869-WILD.

The New York Times has an article focusing on a Miami-based family operation that may face closure because of the recession and the unique nature of their business.

The Great Recession, especially its stranglehold on credit and new construction, appears to have mortally wounded what the Depression could not kill.

“It’s not ‘Oh, I don’t have a job, I have to go find a new one,’ ” Mr. [Scott] Peterson (who works for his family business, Harold A. Peterson Steeplejack) said. “We’re losing a corporation that is 83 years old. We’re losing our house. We’re losing our credit. We’re losing, other than our own physical bodies, everything.”

Harold A. Peterson Steeplejack, an 83-years-old business built on repairing steeples and flagpole installations, will close this year because it can’t afford the business’ steep overhead costs. In the report, Scott Peterson, the grandson of the company’s founder, said he had been rejected for small business loans because his credit score was too low.

Unfortunately the Peterson’s story isn’t an unique one: American businesses with only one to 19 employees lost 757,000 jobs from second quarter 2007 to third quarter 2008, according to the report. How many of these are small family businesses isn’t readily available, but the Times says the number of Americans with small businesses is in the millions.

Photo credit: Vintage family from England

A federal increase of the minimum wage happened last Friday, jumping to $7.25 from $6.55. The increase will bring a extra $1,500 a year before taxes for the 4 million Americans who earn minimum wage. Ninety-one percent of small businesses pay above the minimum wage, according to David Ferreira of the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. So how will the increase affect small business owners already experiencing cash flow problems because of the recession? Listen to a recent edition of NPR’s Tell Me More for a discussion of this very issue.

Marguerite Garden‘s owner Marguerite Gluck said she was heartened by her customers purchasing as much as they could afford to keep her in business. It got me wondering: Do you continue shopping at your favorite local stores to give them business during the recession?

Photo credit: “cash register”

Halloween and dressing up go hand in hand. Through the magic of makeup and costumes, any Chicagoan can become the character of their choosing. But what’s a costume store to do during the remaining 364 days of the year? And how does one stay afloat during a recession that makes costume needs more do-it-yourself than pick-and-buy?

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Landscaping service and flower shop Marguerite Gardens (5059 N. Clark) began in owner Marguerite Gluck’s backyard 20 years ago.

Gluck would buy plants at Fertile Gardens in Lincoln Park, one of Chicago’s most well-known gardening centers. A self-professed plant “nerd,” Gluck won several first place gardening contests and drew in the gardening center’s attention. They took a look at her garden and gave her name to people who would be interested in her expertise.

With that, Marguerite Gardens was born and grew as more clients became familiar with Gluck’s work.
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