Voices of Small Businesses: Discussion and Policy Implications

Abstract

“Small businesses” are often lauded as the backbone of the American economy. Politicians from both sides of the aisle proclaim their commitment to fostering small business in the United States and its importance. However, as is so often the case in policy debates, individual voices can be lost in high-level discussions over tax breaks and business aid programs. In the spirit of investigating the thoughts of actual business owners, we decided to examine a recent survey from Thumbtack.com, with the intent of lending some perspective and context to the debate over how best to aid small and new businesses in the United States. When Thumbtack conducted a large-scale survey of small business owners and service providers in late 2011 and early 2012, it included this open-ended question: “Please let us know any experiences or thoughts you have regarding the ease of doing business in your state.” Of the 6,730 respondents to the Thumbtack survey, 36.6 percent provided feedback to the open-ended question. This report qualitatively analyzes these business owners’ unfettered thoughts on issues they felt important and explores several themes that arose. The findings provide important insights for state policymakers when considering how to make their states appealing to and supportive of small business owners.The trends apparent from the responses do not necessarily echo the narrative often told about the problems business owners face in the United States. Even in these times of difficult political and fiscal issues, states can take concrete steps to support business owners and improve business friendliness.