Not Much Help for Small Businesses

We've been continuing to go over the ramifications, both positive and negative on what the economic stimulus bill will or won't do for small businesses. The bill, now having been passed in both the House and Senate is being put into a form for President Obama to sign. Following up on my research from yesterday's blog, I came across another article more fully detailing what the bill proposes and how it will effect small businesses.

Joyce Rosenberg wrote a very good summary on her blog that went out on AP.

The main offering for small businesses in the bill is the allowance to take a much larger deduction upfront for what you spend on new equipment. That's nice, if you have the money to spend! What our legislators seem to be missing is that most businesses don't have the money to spend on new equipment and are unable to get loans for such equipment because the banks have tightened credit up so much that they aren't lending to people who really need loans. A classic "Catch 22".

So, what can you do? For starters, don't be dependent on a "bailout" by anyone, especially the government. Since none of us are Wall Street bankers, we won't be getting any cash handouts. Our future lies in our hands, and knowledge is power. Take the time to learn what you were not taught in professional school. Most of our clients are professionally trained - i.e. doctors, lawyers, builders, etc. Although they were trained extremely well in their profession, they were not trained at all in business management. Knowing how to properly manage your professional business is the key to not only surviving, but doing well in these recessionary times. Make sure you know how to hire and train staff, how to market your services, how to implement proper job descriptions and office policies in your office, how to implement quality control oversight and how to properly control your finances.
These abilities are what will ensure your survival much more than any government piece of legislation. Although we certainly hope that the economic stimulus bill produces the results nationwide that the President is suggesting, we feel that none of us should plan the survival of our businesses around that. We feel that the most effective guarantee of business survival is business management knowledge and
that's what we recommend.

Let us know your feedback at our discussion forum which can be found at Silkin Group Facebook Page.

Larry Silver
President, Silkin


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