I’m gratified to see that Americans have not taken their usual head-in-sand position where the economy is concerned. Everyone is disgusted, party notwithstanding. Congress is absurd. Things still suck. The government numbers on unemployment are simply not true. The real number is 22%, my friends. Don’t fall for fuzzy math. We are still up to our eyeballs in economic muck and have a long way to go before most of us can even hope to find a job again.

Today alone, I spoke with three incredibly talented ad biz lifers, none of whom can find enough work to stay alive. Two recently lost positions with yet another small agency that closed and have hung a shingle to start over. Another spends his days chain smoking and talking to angry creditors, and his nights hyperventilating and crying when he should be asleep. He spends very little time with his loved ones or working on his craft, which is his passion and the thing he knows how to do.

It has become that kind of world.

None of us want to be in this position. Entrepreneurial small business owners get into the game with burning passions and lofty goals. Because we believe we can bring something new and fresh to the marketplace that will contribute in all ways.

I defy you to find even one small business owner who said,”Gee, I think I’ll open a business so I can run myself into the ground, lose everything I have, ruin my health, alienate my family, piss everyone off and spend my days on the phone fighting with banks and bill collectors!”

The burden cannot fall on us alone. Risk works both ways. We win some, we lose some. Creditors win some, creditors lose some. That’s the game.

In the end, we all have to work together. And my money is still and forever on America’s small businesses. There will be some incredible opportunities coming down the pike after this mess settles down. Isn’t our time best spent preparing for that?

Besides, everyone knows that picking on the small guy always backfires.  I mean, who hasn’t seen “Rocky?”

Posted by Patty Soffer under Uncategorized |