Small Business

NEW YORK - Small business is almost always an issue in presidential campaigns. This year, it's morphed into one of the biggest. Getting the backing of the small-business community is important for most political candidates. Small-company owners are often influencers: They are well-known in their cities and towns and they employ voters with a vested interest in the challenges that they face. The Republican Party and Mitt Romney have been talking about small business for months, focusing on voter concerns such as taxes and health care as small-business issues.

Small-business owners' concerns about government policies have intensified since the deep recession and a recovery that doesn't feel much better. Karen Kerrigan serves the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council as president, and Raymond Keating is its chief economist. The 18-year-old council, which has 100,000 members, takes a stand similar to other groups: Small businesses are struggling because they have to contend with too many taxes and regulations - words that are coming up a lot in presidential campaign speeches, videos, and commercials.

By Michael Carroll Too often, we lack balance when we talk about businesses and their owners. I came of age in the late 1960s and early '70s, an out-of-balance time. Back then, a good part of public opinion was very critical of business and business people, sometimes unfairly so. There was a popular song at the time by a guy named Ray Stevens called "Mr. Businessman," and it was pretty rough on folks with that title. Here is a little sample of the lyrics: Itemize the things you covet As you squander through your life Bigger cars, bigger houses Term insurance for your wife Tuesday evenings with your harlot And on Wednesdays it's your charlatan analyst, He's high up on your list Forty years ago, businesses and business people were not widely admired or portrayed very favorably.

If you own or have owned a small business, what advice would you give to someone just starting out? Send essays of 250 words or less by Feb. 22, including a phone number for verification, to Community Voices/Business at the addresses listed in the Where to Write box above. Questions? Call Kevin Ferris, readers' editor, at 215-854-454

Commercial lending standards have tightened in the past year for small businesses and scuttled a major portion of contracted transactions for smaller properties, the National Association of Realtors reported Thursday. "There have been notable improvements in capital for large commercial transactions valued at $2.5 million or higher, but there remain significant challenges for small business," said Realtors' chief economist Lawrence Yun. According to Real Capital Analytics, more than 13,000 major properties valued at $2.5 million or higher traded hands in 2011.

The Montgomery County Private Industry Council wants to get small business owners involved in big business. The council is sponsoring a conference Wednesday that will introduce small business owners to the opportunities to work with federal and state agencies and large private businesses. "There is so much potential out there for anybody who is interested," said Barry Reimenschneider, procurement specialist for the 6-year-old council. The Government Agency Awareness Reception is scheduled to be held at the Valley Forge Sheraton Convention Center from 8 a.m to noon.

There is plenty of consensus on the benefits of keeping it small. One child is easier to handle than three. A two-door sedan is more fuel-efficient than a stretch limousine. And, of course, the gift-giving creed: Good things come in small packages. Then there's the business world. Ask small-business owners how life is and brace yourself for a litany of hardships. Topping the list might be that they don't have time to answer your question. "There are major challenges in running a small business," said Donna Marie DeCarolis, associate dean for graduate programs at Drexel University's LeBow College of Business.

The legendary Jersey Devil is a creature that has haunted inhabitants of and visitors to the Pine Barrens. Of course, the Jersey Devil is a myth, despite numerous claims of its authenticity. There is, however, a real-life devil that has hindered small-business creation, development and expansion in New Jersey the last four decades. This creature is the ever-growing burden of federal and state regulation of all types, including environmental, labor and financial regulation. Per employee, all these government mandates have a disproportionate impact on small business.

ON THURSDAY, Mayor Street will formally share with City Council his latest vision for his two-term mayoralty. The mayor will offer a partial blueprint for economic growth and will call for an Economic Development Summit to be held this spring. Economic development is a new strategic focus for this administration. But it has always been mine. As a result of my legislative initiatives, on March 25, Council's Commerce and Economic Development Committee will hold hearings to update the status of lending goals submitted by banks holding city money.

New Jersey needs to increase its financial support for the programs that help small businesses - the backbone of the state's economy - to develop, grow and compete, just as neighboring states have done. Last year, Pennsylvania invested $6.7 million and New York $2.5 million in their small-business development centers. New Jersey spent only $800,000. Even Georgia and North Carolina, states comparable in size to New Jersey, poured more money into their development centers, which are nonprofits that assist with startups, work with business owners on accounting and marketing, and help with business plans and securing contracts.

NEW YORK - There's no business like small business. Mix the high stakes of running a small business with a dash of family drama and throw in a camera crew and you get hit reality television shows such as Pawn Stars, Welcome to Sweetie Pie's , and Duck Dynasty . Turning small-business owners into stars has become a winning formula for television producers, but some businesses featured in them are cashing in, too. Sales explode after just...

Beginning Monday, Small Business will once again have its own standalone section. Look forward to more compelling articles by Diane Mastrull about the region's innovators and entrepreneurs, more insights from columnist Mike Armstrong , and more of our popular features People in the News and On the Boards . In addition, the section will include the Monday comics, puzzles, and TV listings.

Beginning Monday, Small Business will once again have its own standalone section. Look forward to more compelling articles by Diane Mastrull about the region's innovators and entrepreneurs, more insights from columnist Mike Armstrong , and more of our popular features People in the News and On the Boards . In addition, the section will include the Monday comics, puzzles, and TV listings.

In the same way that every day is children's day, isn't every week small-business week? The difference is that for children, play is their work, while for small-business owners, never-ending work is their work. So perhaps a week that acknowledges their toil, appetite for risk, and economic impact is appropriate. This year, the U.S. Small Business Administration will stage National Small Business Week with a series of events from June 17 to 21. If you absolutely cannot wait until June, however, you can celebrate what the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce is calling its inaugural Small Business Week from May 13 to 17. Yes, the region's largest chamber of commerce says this will be its first such week.

Beginning May 6, Small Business will once again have its own standalone section. Look forward to more compelling articles by Diane Mastrull about the region's innovators and entrepreneurs, more insights from columnist Mike Armstrong , and more of our popular features People in the News and On the Boards . In addition, the section will include the Monday comics, puzzles, and TV listings.

She could save money, and there's a good chance she wouldn't get caught, but Consuelo Gomez won't hire people who aren't authorized to work in the United States to work for Marty K, her cleaning and landscaping business. She believes she's being undercut by competitors that hire workers without permission. When potential clients tell her that rivals can do the same work for less, she is suspicious. "I'll hear, 'They're $2,000 cheaper than you,' and I say, 'That's impossible,' " said Gomez, whose business is in Bellevue, Wash.

THIS CITY overtaxes people making under $100,000 (usually including a small business). Add all the taxes - gross and net income, business-privilege tax, school tax - plus all the laws and licensing requirements from L&I, the Health Department, zoning, parking tickets from PPA, etc., that a small business pays to the city of Philadelphia, and your shoulders and legs bend from all of this. Now we have AVI, where it is well-known that all small businesses with a dwelling will be taxed heavier than all the other real estate, and you will find it harder to start and then stay in a small business in the city.

EXCUSE ME for bringing up a bad subject, but Monday is when you pay Uncle Sam what you owe in taxes. And tax experts say too many entrepreneurs often leave legitimate small-business tax deductions on the table. According to online publication Small Business Trends , there are 10 key deductions entrepreneurs should not overlook. 1. Health Care Tax Credit If you provide insurance to your workers under ObamaCare, you may be eligible to claim a tax credit of up to 35 percent, if certain criteria are met. 2. Business Use of Personal Car Use your personal vehicle for business purposes?

A notable piece of small-business news on Capitol Hill concerns a tax proposal that could lift some of the uncertainty entrepreneurs complain about. Under a proposal announced this month by House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp (R., Mich.), a popular tax deduction for equipment purchases would become permanent and be set at $250,000, aside from annual inflation adjustments. Known as the Section 179 deduction, it is scheduled to drop to $25,000 in 2014. It was set at $500,000 from 2010 through 2013.