Home | TrendTracker | PowerBlog Reviews | The Experts | Newsletter
ABOUT
SMALL BUSINESS TRENDS brings you daily updates on trends that influence the global small business market.
Anita Campbell, Editor
Past life: CEO, corporate executive, tech entrepreneur, retailer, general counsel, marketer, HR ... (more)
email me
free business magazines
FREE BUSINESS MAGAZINES
Trade publications FREE to qualified professionals. No hidden offers and no purchase necessary.
On Wall Street
The Deal
Computing Canada
 CIO
Employee Benefit
Oracle Magazine
100+ additional titles. Click to browse.
ARCHIVES & SEARCH
Previous Small Business Trends articles can be found at the links below:
October 2003
November 2003
December 2003
January 2004
February 2004
March 2004
April 2004
May 2004
June 2004
July 2004
August 2004
September 2004
October 2004
November 2004
December 2004
January 2005
February 2005
March 2005
April 2005
May 2005
June 2005
July 2005
August 2005
September 2005
October 2005
November 2005
Or, use the search box below to find a
specific post:


NEWSLETTER
Sign up for our FREE Small Business Trends newsletter. (View Current)

We publish regularly and promise we won't share your email address with anyone. (Privacy Policy)
SMALL BIZ INFO & RESOURCES
BLOGS TO READ DAILY*
* Don’t have time to read several dozen blogs a day? Pick two or three. Your brain will thank you for it.
ONLINE COMMUNITIES
BLOG DIRECTORIES
THE BUZZ

SPECIAL RESOURCES
Small Business Trends Radio
Tuesdays, 1:00 PM Eastern U.S. time
on Voice America network
Click to listen

November 1st: Torsten Jacobi, CEO of Creative Weblogging, joins host Anita Campbell. Sponsored by Six Disciplines. Show details.
Thursday, March 11, 2004
President Bush and Women Entrepreneurs
Yesterday I attended the "Women's Entrepreneurship in the 21st Century" conference in Cleveland, Ohio, USA.

There were 1200 people there, about 90% of whom were women. Most were entrepreneurs and small business owners.

The main reason I went was to hear the keynote address by President George Bush. I wanted to hear the President's message for myself -- first hand.

You see, in a presidential election year I find it very hard to get a "spin-free" message. The major media outlets seem compelled to spin reports of what the President says to suit their political viewpoints. Conservative, liberal, Republican, Democrat, left-wing, right-wing -- they all "spin." I wanted to hear what the President had to say for myself, without the filter of someone else's political views.

In a talk that was well over 30 minutes long, President Bush spoke extensively about business, especially small businesses and entrepreneurs. Here are some of his remarks (paraphrased):

  • On entrepreneurs and small businesses: Entrepreneurs are risk takers and dreamers and doers. Entrepreneurs and small businesses play a crucial role in the U.S. economy. They create two-thirds of the new jobs in the U.S. Nearly half of all U.S. small businesses are owned by women. And businesses started by women are growing at twice the national rate. You can't have a healthy economy without a healthy small business sector.


  • On creating jobs: The role of government is not to create wealth, but to create an environment in which the entrepreneurial spirit flourishes. Government does not create jobs. Businesses create jobs.


  • On job losses: Job losses have been caused by productivity increases. Productivity improvements are changing the U.S. economy. Manufacturing output increased six-fold in the past 50 years, yet the number of employees stayed roughly the same. Higher productivity brings challenge. Productivity means companies expand their businesses without adding more employees. It is good for businesses, and it is good for consumers (lower prices, higher wages), but it also means businesses need fewer jobs. And small businesses are leading the way in this productivity revolution.


  • On taxes: The majority of small businesses are sole proprietors and Subchapter S corporations. When individual tax rates are lowered, that means tax rates are also lowered on small businesses which are taxed at individual tax rates.


  • On trade protectionism: Isolationism is a defeatist mindset. Instead of building barriers to trade, we need to break them down. International trade works two ways. In the U.S. we benefit from the ability to export to other countries, and from foreign companies employing local people. Under NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement), Ohio's exports to Mexico have tripled to $2 Billion (USD). Over 900 foreign companies employ workers in Ohio. For instance, 10% of Honda's workforce lives in Ohio, about 16,000 workers. U.S. workers are building BMWs and exporting them to Germany; exporting computer chips to Japan; and exporting California wine to France. There are 6.4 Million Americans who work for foreign companies. A policy of isolationism is a sure way to threaten those U.S. jobs.


  • On regulation: America must remain a great place to do business, especially for small businesses. That means less regulation, less taxation of businesses. We must have tort reform, because frivolous lawsuits are not conducive to business.

There was a lot more, and you can read the entire transcript of the President's remarks here. There is even an accompanying Fact Sheet. Whether you agree or disagree with President Bush's positions, he is the leader of the world's largest and fast growing economy in the developed world. As long as he is President, his policies and viewpoints are important. We report, you decide.


By Anita Campbell | Permalink | |
More news... more trends... more insight...

Home | Privacy | Terms | SmallBizTrends
(c) Copyright 2003 - 2005, Small Business Trends LLC. All rights reserved.