Should I Stay or Should I Grow? Small Business Owners Struggle to Expand
- Posted on July 12, 2011 at 1:48pm by
Becket Adams
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Hundreds of small business owners have acknowledged the discouraging reality that they cannot afford to go public. The Initial Public Offering market (IPO) for small and micro-capital companies is drying up for several reasons.
Beginning with the post-9/11 economic downturn and continuing with the passage of The Sarbanes–Oxley Act of 2002, the traditional IPO model (the small startup) has continued its slow and steady deterioration with help of recent events including the credit crisis and financial meltdown of 2008.
Several recent articles illustrate this unfortunate trend. For instance, in a story published in The Star Tribune, columnist Wendy Lee writes that “Venture capital investment in Minnesota companies plummeted 48 percent to $139.5 million in 2010.”
The story continues, “To make matters worse, Minnesota has gotten a smaller slice of the venture capital pie. Minnesota ranked 19th on average in quarterly tallies of venture capital investment last year, Hare said. That compared with ninth in 2007.”
The IPO market is not faring any better in the South. Take for example the state of Georgia, where it “produced $69.95 million in venture capital, drawn from 13 deals for the first quarter of 2011, a big drop from first-quarter of 2010, when [Georgia] posted $118.55 million garnered from 16 deals. Georgia also sagged from the fourth quarter of 2010, when 13 deals brought in $102.51 million.”
Perhaps the outlook is better in the West.
Colorado “plunged from 27 deals and $256.20 million in the fourth quarter to 15 deals and 63.13 million in first quarter 2011.”
Nope.
Despite this bleak outlook, there is one small scrap of positive news: “[venture capital] put $6.4 billion to work in U.S. companies in Q1, a 35% increase over Q1 2010,” VentureSource reported. However, even this good news is short-lived when one takes into account venture capital deals have remained stubbornly stagnant, growing by only 5 percent.
Although there is clearly a problem, there may still be hope; not all is lost.
First, it is important to understand that new business startups are an essential element in determining and sustaining the long-term economic growth of our economy. Businesses and the people who own them generate jobs and wealth, not the government. Although the government can help to foster new business development, it generally can do very little to provide the initial capital and support necessary for the start-up phase.
This is the responsibility of the business owner and it is usually accomplished through “seed” capital generated by a full-time job, personal savings, the sale of assets such as cars and boats, borrowing against the family home, or loans from family members.
After making the initial investment, the business owner may decide that he wants to go public with his company in order to finance its continued growth and expansion. In a perfect world, he would make an Initial Public Offering.
There are several advantages to an IPO. One of them is that the amount of equity capital that can be raised in the public equity market is usually larger than the amount that can be raised through private sources. There are literally millions of investors in public stock markets and it is easier for companies to reach these investors for financial aid rather than rely on the amounts that they might raise from private firms.
Another example: after a firm has completed an IPO, supplementary equity capital can be raised through Secondary Market Offerings (SEO) at a low cost. This is because the public markets are liquid and investors are more likely to pay higher prices for the liquid shares of a public organization than for the relatively illiquid shares of a private firm. This enables the entrepreneur to diversify his portfolio or to sell shares in order to kick back a little and enjoy his success.
IPOs also enable business owners to attract top management—while incentivizing current managers—because senior executives generally own equity in the firm with a part of their compensation tied to the firm’s stock. It is a well known fact that publicly traded companies more easily attract top-notch employees because the financial information pertaining to its success and profitability is readily available.
Finally, investing in an IPO does not mean that the owner loses control by going public: he only gives up whatever portion will allow him to raise the necessary funds.
Despite the advantages of IPOs, making a move in this direction has become a nightmare for small business owners. There are several reasons for this.
First, there are the obvious risks and costs involved. The costs are due to the fact that the stock is not “seasoned,” that is, it does not have an established record. The likely liquidity of a stock that is sold in an IPO is not entirely known and therefore its value is uncertain. For this reason, investors are less comfortable buying a stock sold in an IPO and will not pay as high a price for it as they would for a similarly seasoned stock in a mature company.
In addition, the out-of-pocket costs, such as legal fees, accounting expenses, printing costs, travel expenses, SEC filing fees, consultant fees, and taxes can substantially add to the cost of making an IPO.
Next, small businesses owners have to worry about the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and its mountain of regulations.
Since the imposition of several SEC directives (among them the law that demands that companies have “a measurement metric that is self-calibrating; a standardized measurement and methodology for computing market capitalization,” and “a date for determining total market capitalization“), the process of going public has become a labyrinth of expensive red tape. Complying with ongoing SEC disclosure requirements has become a financial burden that most startups are either unwilling or unable to bear.
The Decline in American IPOs Since 1990
According to Chartered Financial Analyst Dr. Robert Parrino, “Once a firm goes public, it must meet a myriad of filing and other requirements imposed by the SEC. For larger firms, these regulatory costs are not terribly important because they represent a relatively small fraction of the total equity value. However, regulatory costs can be significant for small firms.”
Furthermore, “the requirement that firms provide the public with detailed financial statements, detailed information on executive compensation, information about the firm’s strategic initiatives, and so forth can put the firm at a competitive disadvantage relative to private firms that are not required to disclose such information.”
Why go public with so much at risk?
Many investors also believe that the requirement for IPOs to forecast their quarterly earnings and financial statements encourages managers and investors to focus only on the short-term profit of the company rather than its long-term value. In the event that a company fails to meet its quarterly forecasts, a company will usually see its stock value drop and its investors scatter (regardless of whether or not the forecasts were realistic).
Some have attempted to address these issues. According to an article in The Wall Street Journal, the SEC could be “moving toward sweeping new rulemaking in a number of areas that impact capital raising by small businesses.”
The Wall Street Journal article based its focus on an Apr. 6, 2011 letter from SEC Chairman Mary Shapiro to Congressman Darrell E. Issa in which Shapiro discusses the aforementioned disadvantages that SEC regulations have imposed on startups. However, it is very doubtful that these concerns will be addressed in a timely manner.
As if existing SEC regulations, Sarbox and the recession were not harmful enough, there is one more disincentive against making an IPO. The House of Representatives recently decided to pass HR 4213 which contains “a provision to change the taxation of carried interest from capital gains to 75 percent ordinary income and 25 percent capital gains.”
Surely, someone in Washington understands that there needs to be a meaningful tax incentive for investors to consider a long-term investment with a startup company. How can business owners be expected to afford all of this?
The obvious result of this perfect storm has been for entrepreneurs to shy away from expansion.
Suzanne McGee writes in Portfolio.com , “only a dozen IPOs of U.S. companies have made their way to market so far this year, according to data from Dealogic, while another eight have been postponed or withdrawn.”
“I think that what is going on in the wider universe, the global economic issues, weigh on psychology and sentiment, and that is affecting demand for IPOs far more than fundamentals are at the moment,” said Dan Cummings, head of Americas Equity Capital Markets for Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
The best solution to this mountain of discouragement is not immediately clear.
Ultimately, it comes down to risk (which is considered a dirty word among investors). Entrepreneurs and venture capitalists will simply have to decide whether or not they would rather coast on safe but low-yielding investments or whether they are willing to gamble on a prospect that might flop.
As long as the bootstrap mentality is alive and as long as investors are willing to take risks, IPOs will remain active. However, what would really assist the IPO market, what would really breathe some life into it, would be the easing of Federal regulations and the introduction of tax-break incentives. Give the investors a reason to risk their capital. Give them room to grow and they will produce and provide.
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Comments (69)
SantaFeBlue
Posted on July 13, 2011 at 12:09pmOur small business gets nothing from the government. All we do is pay taxes and try to survive week to week. Maybe its just not worth is anymore. Its so depressing.
Report Post »followthefounders
Posted on July 13, 2011 at 12:24pmThe money is now in e-commerce. We love it. All from comfort of home and computer. http://www.StoreNSurvive.com A GREAT business to be in for our generation.
Report Post »dontbotherme
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 11:28pmI worked for a small business for 12 years. We were doing well. About a year ago the owner finally had enough of the taxes & fees in the State of Illinois that he shut down everything on the east side of the Mississippi. We are across the river from St. Louis. He “Shrugged”. Over 50 long term employees were out of a job. One of us has found a new job. I have no faith in the current leadership of our Country. They destroy everything they touch & it’s being done on purpose.
Report Post »georgeisn6
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 10:52pmSmall business is a direct threat to our communist goverment.
Report Post »oldwhiteguy
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 8:58pmI have been in business for 28 years and have survived all these ignorant politicians over the years. I require another major expansion but I will not proceed until I am sure this president gets no credit for anything my company does. If there are not more CEO’s out there like me it would greatly surprise me.
Report Post »UURAHH
Table Crumb
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 8:41pmThe conditions for small businesses to spring into life and thrive is really tough. Why else in the world are these small businesses not coming into the market.
Small businesses is a key. When all the irresponsible bailouts stops, if they stop, entrepreneurs and small businesses will fill the void. Don’t get it?
Free-market enterprise capitalism without the overwhelming corruption or you can call it cronyism, it will work. The invisible hand of the free market will determine who fails and rise. The overreaching hands of the government unfairly bailed out losers and tried to make them winners. They are still losers. If fairness still exists and I believe it does, it will show it’s face in due time.
We must demand and it.
Report Post »Table Crumb
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 8:29pmWatch how many hours of our labor belongs to government’s cost and spending. The numbers are out there. Do the math…I read a research article on this.
Kremlin-style Washington D.C. is most likely what this bunch wants.
Small businesses is next to irrelevant under ‘Oligarchs’.
Our hours of labor and the compensation we receive for it continues to be diverted ever more so into the government’s ventures.
It’s all right I suppose for some who make a decent sum of money, and even after all their expenses and taxes; they are still able to bring home a decent amount to provide for their family.
This of course is all right only for those who feel it’s ok, but they do not speak for everybody else and the sure do not speak for the majority.
My pay wages are not as much I would like it to be, but I can remain content until I find better opportunities. I have just enough to take care of my family. Now when more of my compensation for my hours of labor are taken away from me; more and more so, where will that most likely lead me to. My hours of labor should belong to me. It is rightfully mine. I sacraficed hours away from my family in order to try and provide a decent living standard for my ‘family’. That is my responsibility.
The government diverts more and more hours of labor unto themselves through whatever forms or means and if we don‘t carefully watch what’s really happening; sooner or later, we might as well call ourselves “slave-laborers”.
Report Post »Small b
SimpleTruths
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 5:23pm@THERIGHTSOFBILLY
Report Post »I am always looking for good people, not that easy actually. I’m actually shocked by the poor quality of the recent college grads I interview, private or public school doesn’t matter.
I am not willing to publish any personal or company information on this, or any, blog. Do some homework – look on Monster for technology or marketing positions in the greater Philadelphia area.
sbenard
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 4:23pmNo way will I expand or hire while Obama is in office. I’m thinking about moving to Chile instead!
Report Post »MONICNE
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 5:38pmSee Ya!
Wouldn’t wanna Be ya!
TEA
Report Post »GOTT-EM-MAUSER
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 8:41pmYou are not alone in your sentiments. Most Business folks I know stopped advancing, and most began to retrench, the nano second Obama was taken seriously as a a Candidate, much less once he was actually elected. Everybody is still in a “Holding Pattern” waiting to see what these Flakes do next. The taking on of ANY BUSINESS RISKS at this point, is a FOOL’S GAME. The United States is no longer a “Business Friendly Operating Area” and lots of folks are looking at, and some moving to, South America. The Business Climate is way better there than here, and the Governments are not nearly as hostile to Business or “White Devils” as ours is now.
Report Post »h20sue
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 4:20pmI started my small business from scratch in 2004. I was hit by the recession in 2008, after just starting to see a small profit. It’s just me and two sub-contractors and we haven’t seen large sales since 2008! Customers around our area don’t hesitate to tell you that they are scared to death to spend money! They dislike the government, they dislike who’s running the government, and let’s face it, Obama has been the worse President since Jimmy Carter when it comes to small business. Those folks who commented, who have 250 plus employees, hardly fall in what’s known as “Small Business!” Small Business should be just what they say they are….“Under 25 to 50 employees”.
I’ve had to borrow to keep my business afloat since 2008. There has been no help from any governnment agency as far as helping keep my business alive. Taxes are high! Too High! We’re taxed to death in this country! Best thing that could happen to this country is they go Belly Up and start all over. Our Ceiling Debt isn’t raised so we can continue with our business, so why should the government think they are worthy of extended their debt. They have squandered billions of dollars, allowed big business to go without paying taxes, and offered no help to small businesses!Corporations are cutting jobs, reducing size, and stopped buying, so how the heck does anyone increase the size of their business? They can’t! The smartest business guru can’t pull this rabbit out of the hat! Wake up Obama!
Report Post »MONICNE
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 5:39pmTaxes are lower than ever for small businesses. Fact.
GOTT-EM-MAUSER
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 8:56pmHate to say it, BUT, the BELLY UP part is coming one way or another. 2008 was like hitting a brick wall for most everybody. We’ve been blessed here in Texas since as a State we are the least COMMUNIST overrun of all 50. And we have had continued Oil/Gas Exploration and Production in the Eagleford Shale that the Enviro Nazis couldn’t stop. But even with that, the slow down has been noticeable, and when combined with the Runaway Inflation of Energy, Food and Commodities prices brought about by the Communist Federal Reserve Money Jews and their printing presses, even TEXAS is feeling the pain now. Unless we come to our senses and Secede from this mess, we’ll go down eventually as well. The United States of America as we know it is over with, the economy is beyond the point of no return now, matter not who gets elected to what.
Report Post »inexiletill2012
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 3:58pmI am a “Small Business” owner with a crew of 3. 250k sales and the profit margin keeps going down. (rising costs , tax’s and fuel bills) I could try to expand and could lean things out with 1 more technician.
But with whats going on now …? Now way in heck I will “try” to grow. It will cost more in insurance..tax’s…Its not there yet for my customers to purchase more…so I will stay where I am for now.
Get rid of the socialists in office and small business MIGHT grow again….God knows it will take years to repair the damage done….not to speak of “ObamaCare” regulations and tax’s still on the way
GOVERNMENT !……GET OUT OF MY WAY SO I CAN GROW !
Report Post »SimpleTruths
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 4:25pmThat’s a load of crap. Nothing has changed in any significant way in terms of overhead costs or taxes in the last 2 1/2 years, fuel maybe but gas was over $3/gallon for a period of time during the wonderful Bush years. It was all the greed on Wall Street and the red carpet given to corporations sending jobs overseas that sucked the life, and money, out of this country. Customers are out there but you have to find them and have goods and services they want to buy – grow a pair, run your business correctly and you will profit. Quit whining.
Report Post »GOTT-EM-MAUSER
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 9:45pmWell SIMPLETON,
You don’t have a clue waht you are talking about. But then that is nothing new when dealing with COMMUNISTS. It is patently obvious that you aren’t in business in the private sector anyway. EVERYTHING has gone up in price since the current “Ethiopian in the Fuel Supply” came on the scene. WITH ONE notable exception Commercial Rents. But other than that, Steel is up by over 40%, Copper by more than 300%, Fuel 350%, Food 70% and the list goes on. Try buying any kind of Business related Insurance, Machines, Tooling, and Supplies, and you will pay from 40% to 150% more than they cost in 2008. At least then, the Phony Housing Credit Bubble did supply a seemingly endless supply of Customers for Anything at any Price. But those days are long gone, and now there are either precious few or no customers for most anything but absolute neccessities. I have been in business for the last 40+ years, several RECCESSIONS, NEVER, even under Peanut Carter, have things been as bad as they are now, and getting worse day by day. We are in a DEPRESSION now. But let’s revisit the Commercial Rents item. I also happen to own multiple Lease Properties. The rents are completely stagnate simply because the folks in them now, are mostly teetering on the verge of bankruptcy and there are NO NEW SMALL BUSINESSES being started. They can’t afford to.
NO OBAMA DIDN’T accomplish ALL of this by himself, but he sure as the Devil has done EVERYTHING he could to make it WOR
Report Post »SimpleTruths
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 3:30pmOnce again Monicne is right, there are many opportunities for ambitious, creative, energetic people. Unfortunately it seems most on here are more interested in crying in their beer and buying into the story line that everything that is wrong is 2 years old and if we just gave the rich people more money it would all be better. Well I’m one of those rich people (not Koch rich, it’s all relative mind you) and go ahead and make me richer but guess what, that’s not going to make your life better.
Report Post »MONICNE
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 5:42pmI appreciate what it takes to do what it takes. I applaud you as much as I do ANY veteran. You and other entrepreneurs who keep on going are TRUE American Heroes!
I hate wimpy criers. LOL
Report Post »TEA
MONICNE
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 3:16pmWhat has worked for me since 1983, is to Go where the work is.
There are always jobs somewhere. Maybe not right where you are. Lots of successful persons travel (for the right job) and pay for their families back home. And do well because they are using their skills, abilities, and knowledge – to build a resume that is well paid for.
In the 90′s, my brother worked at reactor plants 4 months a year, netted $70-80K a year, paid his way through college easily and traveled everywhere.
Report Post »Anonymous T. Irrelevant
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 3:30pmThis story is about people who PROVIDE jobs, NOT people who look for jobs.
Report Post »MONICNE
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 5:44pmI am talking about forming an S Corporation as a private consultant, naturally. (Small Business)
Report Post »thegreatcarnac
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 3:16pmWhy should small business grow with obama as president. Obama is an obamination (no pun intended). Better to use that money to gvie to whomever had the best chance to beat this pig in an election.
Report Post »SimpleTruths
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 3:41pmObviously you don’t own a small business, I do. The answer to your question “why should small business grow” is pretty obvious – TO MAKE MORE MONEY AND BUILD A FOUNDATION FOR MORE GROWTH. Am I worried if the tax margin nudges from 35 to 39%? Hell no, there still are a thousand legal ways to reduce tax liability.
Report Post »Therightsofbilly
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 4:32pm@SIMPLETRUTHS
Sounds like you MUST be hiring ?
I know lots of good people looking for work right now.
At what address can they send their resume ?
Report Post »GOTT-EM-MAUSER
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 10:17pmNO the SIMPLETON is just another HuffPo Soros Troll trying to bolster their pack of lies about the OBAMANATION and Company’s total destruction of the Economy. IF “it” is actually “In Business” you can bet it’s sucking at the Government Teat, not the Private Sector. The Private Sector Economy is so “DONE” now, you might as well stick a fork in it. I talk to people everyday that have “REAL MONEY” and they ALL ask the same question, “WHAT can I put this into to try and preserve it????” They buy Gold, Silver, Real Estate, and everything else, for “STUPID MONEY” just to get rid of the worthless Fiat Federal Reserve Notes they are holding. MILLIONS and MILLIONS of them, soon to be toilet paper.
Yeah, EVERYTHING is just FINE; We are in a Depression far greater than the the “Great One”, but diesel fuel that was $1.05 a gallon in 08 is now “ON SALE” for ONLY $3.75 a gallon? Why is a Hamburger that was $3.50 in 08, now approaching $9.00? Buy any AMMO lately? $.20 a round in 08, now $1.25 a round. Run right out and buy one of the Pick up Trucks that sold for $30,000 in 08, now $55,000.00 and sitting on the lot growing hair! Un-Employment at their “CONTRIVED” 9.2%(actual 20+%) and our INDUSTRIAL BASE GONE FOREVER, so we can buy cheap crap from China and othe notable Third World Sh#thole Countries. You couldn’t make this stuff up if you tried!!!!!
Report Post »Arc
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 3:11pmThe current administration’s anti business approach in the face of such a huge economic downturn ( total collapse in some circles) is simply another indication of how serious Obama, the Progressive’s, the Socialist and the communist intend to destroy any free enterprise system in the country. Once thats completely destroyed, anyone who owns a business is in line to have their business nationalized for the sake of “redistribution of wealth”
What a total debacle it will be when the desire and life are stripped from the hearts of the American people for the sake of a nanny state. Maybe a violent revolution will stop it.
Report Post »MONICNE
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 3:18pmThis sounds like a defeat letter and a radical threat at the end, like I would expect from a Frenchman.
TEA
Report Post »SimpleTruths
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 3:49pmNice recitation of the party line. Exactly what ‘anti-business approach” are you referring to? I received a low interest loan FROM THE GOVERNMENT to help with the physical expansion of my office, how is that “anti-business” exactly? BTW – I was required to comply with the Bacon-Davis Act (fair wages for labor), and the Buy American Act (US sourced material), regulations intended to make sure there is a level playing field for American workers and American manufactures. I suppose that’s anti-business too. Maybe if you stopped watching Fox and listening to radio and stepped into the real world you would understand.
Report Post »GOTT-EM-MAUSER
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 10:48pmWell SIMPLETON, I did call this one now didn’t I. You are a genuine real life Government Teat Sucking Drone. No wonder you are an ardent Obama Supporter, you‘ve got a Vested Interest in seeing the current COMMUNIST REGIME realize it’s goals. If you need to have the Government Subsidize your Business Borrowing, you have no place being in Business to start with, and sure as the Devil not on my Tax Dollars to guarantee your “Success”, Fund your project with your own Money, Not mine stolen from me by the COMMUNISTS you are in bed with. Keep Sucking Little Communist Piglet, but don’t be surprised when your personal TEAT goes Dry here shortly.
And TOKYO ROSE, ARC wasn’t threatening anything nor anybody. He was infact providing a look into the FUTURE for all you HOPELESS LEFTY LOONS. This whole Scam is coming to Critical Mass very soon, in a City or Town near you and everyone else. The PRODUCERS have had ENOUGH of carrying you the FreeLoader Drones. First the WAGON has STOPPED NOW, and next comes UNLOADING it. That’s not a Threat, that’s a PROMISE.
Report Post »texasfarmer
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 3:10pmI just finished the state and federal tax, unemployment, FICA, withholding, medicare forms for the month and quarter. Such fun.
Report Post »Obama is doing his level best to slow expansion and force everyone under the federal thumb. Come to papa.
SimpleTruths
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 3:50pmRight, all those were just put into place a couple of years ago right?
Report Post »GrumpyCat
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 2:57pmWith government heaping additional regulations and taxes on the productive members of society there should be no wonder that many tuck into their tortoise shell for minimal risk rather than stick their parts out and risk getting them cut off.
Clearly these people are “filthy rich” and “deserve to be taxed more.” So Obama and the left have no reason to complain if the very people who could spend/invest the economy out of the doldrums abide by the left’s wishes and refuse to get their hands dirty, and quit earning so much so as to not be taxed (or criticized) so much.
At some point they have to retreat to survival mode and only do enough to survive in hopes of a brighter tomorrow.
Report Post »SimpleTruths
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 2:33pmI am a small business owner with over 70 employees in business now for 17 years. I have expanded throughout the last 5 years, in fact adding 12 people in the last 15 months. I choose to do this in direct opposition to the trends because I see opportunity to offer something better than my competition. Monicne is right, it takes guts and smarts to make it business. I’m not worried about taxes, if I owe more its because I made more. Healthcare costs have stabilized in the last 2 years, the big jumps in cost were in the previous years before Obama so that argument is bull. Regulation has always existed, don’t act like it just started with with this administration.
Report Post »CHRISBOLT123
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 2:54pmI bet this guy is NOT telling the truth. Bet he is a Obama Kool Aid drinker. It would not suprise me if he works for Obama …UNEMPLOYED.. living off the backs of others.
Report Post »MONICNE
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 3:03pmLast year I made more than $300,000 JUST IN SALARY. I paid my 125,000 in 2010 income taxes and am back to work!
My next door neighbor has 26-year old boy with a undergrad degree in Economics who plays a mean “On-Line World At War” video game and tells me about how many unsuccessful resumes he has sent out when we have a cook out in the back yard. I told him I would pay $125.00 a week if he waters my 1/10 acre front yard on hot days but he’s not interested.
Report Post »SimpleTruths
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 3:21pmCHRISBOLT123
Report Post »Oh I‘m telling the truth and I don’t even like Kool-aide. In fact just this morning we won a multi-million, multi-year dollar contract from a major US bank for ad development, social media development and media buying. I will very likely add at least a two more staff members this month, more later in the year.
Anonymous T. Irrelevant
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 3:39pm@Monicne
Report Post »“Last year I made more than $300,000 JUST IN SALARY. I paid my 125,000 in 2010 income taxes and am back to work!”
—————————————————————————————–
You are full of crap. People who make that kind of money do not sit around posting on forums, unless that is their job, and then I don’t believe that make that much. Nobody pays over 50% income taxes, either.
MONICNE
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 5:57pmAnonymous T
Check my patterns. ha ha, I have a little time when I travel, but I am really not “posting” that frequently. You just got me during a layover.
125 is not 50% of 300, and I actually made low 300′s as Salary, after pushing much more than that through the economy. Income taxes (after many family deductions) were $126,510. But, some years I roll lots of the money back and don’t take very much salary.
I also like the way you limit yourself with you negative self-talk. “people like that..” LOL. You would never know the family next door are Millionaires, just because you can’t visualize it!
Anyway, none of this is important, I digress. It’s better to leave you behind. I apologize for using numbers to make a statement. Seemed like a good idea at the time. Oops. The plane is boarding, gotta go!
TEA
Report Post »CHRISBOLT123
Posted on July 13, 2011 at 12:11amHow do you have time be online all day if you are sooooo busy with your own business. My brother-in-law does have a business of his own and he works 12 – 15 hours a day…everyday. He doesnt have time to be online and defend THE WORST PRESIDENT this nation has ever seen. Job numbers dont lie. Why are companies sitting on so much money? The future numbers look bad as well. New job numbers expected to slow next year. How is the ecomony in good shape? ….. By the way I’m on vacation this week that is why I have time to be online.
Report Post »florida123
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 2:24pmThey are winning folks, you want a capitalist society to become communist its easy squash the small business into oblivion and your job is done. Now form the Communist Party you always dreamed of, the Mega Corps and the Politicians, all the rest become totally depended on the Gov’t and Mega Corps for their very existence. Welcome to the United Socialist Republic of USA! Hey all you morons that voted for this clown pick up your pick and shovel we are heading for the promise land………..NOT
Report Post »SimpleTruths
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 2:47pmI‘m sure you’re feeling all good about yourself when you walk into Walmart and save a couple of dimes on some crappy Made in China whatever, but realize you just participated in the very reason you don’t see any more Mom and Pop stores anymore. Blame Obama all you want but try looking in the mirror.
Report Post »ENTITLEMENTSBLOW
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 2:16pmObama and his policies are awful for small businesses and their owners. You’re a complete moron if you voted for this loser if you own a business or ever plan to.
Report Post »Gonzo
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 2:22pmI wouldn’t limit it to “ if you own a business or ever plan to”. Just stop at “You’re a complete moron if you voted for this loser.”
Report Post »ENTITLEMENTSBLOW
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 4:42pmGood Point Gonzo!
Report Post »freedomcatcher
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 2:13pmLooks to me that, for the most part, all the hoops that new businesses must go through have been put in place by “the old gaurd” to prevent competition from newcomers. How wonderfully feudal-mercantilist of them.
Report Post »SimpleTruths
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 2:23pmYour’e exactly right, but the right wing spinners will make it all Obama’s fault and the sheep will believe it as they have been programmed to do.
Report Post »GodBlessAmericaandIsrael
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 2:45pmYes but there’s much more to it than just that, the fact is that Obama and his policies outline a very disruptive trend for small business. If it still seems ok now it’s because we are lying in an artificially created economy, if we continue on this path little by little the free market will be taken away from us, and the MAN will have more and more control. LOOK AT THE BIG PICTURE
Report Post »LIBSALWAYSLIE
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 2:09pmobananomics hard at work fixing everything.
Report Post »Stoic one
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 2:03pmI think the Marxist and Chief likes things just the way they are.
Report Post »TH30PH1LUS
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 2:02pmTime to cut the Federal Leech off our backs!
Report Post »MONICNE
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 2:00pmToday’s small businesses are almost like a bunch of protected species! They need the ability to “see the future” to take the slightest risk! They do not resemble the robust entrepreneurs who made this a vital country, and who knew how to weather adversity, take a licking and keep on ticking!
It has never been easier or less risky to do business in America!
Report Post »Stoic one
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 2:05pmtaxes and regulations are the problem MONICNE/ encinom.
Report Post »Gonzo
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 2:05pmYes everything is rosey and it’s just those gutless American entrepreneurs making Obama look bad.
Report Post »Chappy123
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 2:19pmYou are being sarcastic I hope. I mean, no one can be
Report Post »xoke
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 2:19pmYea Moni…we love not knowing what our tax rates will be, what kind of light bulbs we should be using, what type of health care and/or penalties we’re looking at for our employees, whether or not the EPA is gonna hammer us for producing carbon dioxide, or whether or not we’re going to be the next government “poster boy” for everything that’s wrong with the economy like like they do to the coal, oil, and airplane industry. Wise up.
Report Post »MONICNE
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 2:22pmTimes are tough, but our parents were tougher than the times. You can give excuses and stay in bed all day, or you can be a Doer, and maybe accomplish something you can refer to on your tombstone.
((Just curious, Gonzo, do you have a tombstone phrase?))
Report Post »MONICNE
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 2:24pmXOKE,
I can handle the fear and indecision that a 35% rate might become a 39% rate, and keep making money. But that’s because I know how to make money!
You better crawl under your cot, Gunny! Its a big old world out here!
Report Post »florida123
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 2:26pmWhat rock do you live under its time to crawl out and for goodness sake take off the rose colored glasses!
Report Post »MONICNE
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 2:42pmYou Boo Birds just don’t get it!
There is OPPORTUNITY everywhere.
You can make a fortune selling Japan Reconstruction materials.
Ambitious youngsters are making 20% profits cleaning up Louisiana Oil Spills.
Entire neighborhoods damaged and destroyed by recent storms and floods are desperately in need of labor and materials.
All these bad things lead to necessary work and sales for ambitious, honest hardworking high school dropouts or better educated, willing to invest and travel.
There is a 60-year backlog in USA foreclosure processing that will make ambitious Accounting 101-educated persons into wealthy small business owners for the next decade. Pick a city or stste and go to work!
If you get off your chair it’s a GOLD mine out here!
Report Post »MONICNE
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 2:43pm“state”
LOL. TEA
Report Post »Anonymous T. Irrelevant
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 3:34pmYou, obviously, like our president, have never started or ran a business.
Report Post »Glenn is Right
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 1:59pmObama says he cannot guarantee Social Security checks will go out on August 3
Obama is trying to scare the old people. He is actually threatening them and instead of being upset at Obama, they will be upset at Republicans. Old people have lost their mind and Obama is fideling.
Report Post »Anonymous T. Irrelevant
Posted on July 12, 2011 at 3:33pmThis tactic is what Obama has used during his whole administration. Remember, we had to “pass the stimulus or the economy would fail?“ ”Never let a good crisis go to waste”-Rahm Emmanuel.
Report Post »He keeps trying to scare the people into doing his bidding. People need to look past this scare tactic and see this Marxist for what he really stands for.