Q. What is the Middlesex Micro Business Council? How long has it been in existence?
A. Definition: Microbusiness — one with nine or fewer employees. The chamber’s Micro Business Council is designed to support these businesses (Gallagher’s firm qualifies as one) by promoting the sharing of information through social and professional interaction. The council focuses on the core disciplines from management, marketing, finance, human resources and leadership. The discussions vary from a myriad of topics, including but not limited to, business start-up, taxes, insurance, marketing, local planning and zoning, management techniques and cash flow. The Micro Business Council welcomes new members to share their successes and challenges of operating a micro-business in today’s competitive economic climate.
The council has been in existence for over seven years, first as the Home Based Business Council, then as the SOHO (Small Office Home Office) Council, and now in its current form as the Micro Business Council.
Q. Tomorrow, Jan. 12, there is a meet and greet from 5 to 7 p.m. at Middlesex Community College (Cancelled due to weather; not yet rescheduled). On the agenda is how the college supports and can be used as a resource. How does the college support microbusinesses?
A. The Micro Business Meet and Greet with Middlesex Community College is the first step in forging a partnership within the microbusiness community. Our hope is to create a two-way street, where the college can provide the microbusiness with support resources and microbusinesses can provide valuable mentoring partnerships to aid students in their pursuit of entrepreneurism.
Q. The chamber defines a micro business as having nine or fewer employees. How many microbusinesses are there in your coverage area? Does one type of business predominate this group?
A. According to 2006 business census statistics (available in 2009), Middlesex County has 16,639 microbusinesses, which generate over $2 billion in sales. If you look statewide for the same period there were over 321,000 microbusinesses generating over $43 billion in revenue. No one type of business dominates the microbusiness category as the range is as broad as the entire business spectrum.
Q. Why does the chamber have this council? Does it make more sense to support 20 businesses with five employees or one business with 100 employees? Which has the greater impact?
A. Microbusinesses are the backbone of our economy but currently under-recognized by a large majority of the population and officials. Connecticut has over 321,000 registered microbusinesses. However, there are many more microbusinesses which fall “under the radar” simply because they have no need to register with the Secretary of State. Microbusiness makes up over 70 percent of all businesses in the state of Connecticut. Microbusinesses employ over 400,000 in Connecticut and generate over $430,000,000 in tax revenues for the state. Microbusinesses employ twice as many people as the top 25 employers combined. For every $1 spent at a micro-business 60 percent stays locally as opposed to only 6 percent for out-of-state mega companies. Furthermore, the micro-businesses pay more, treat their employees better and are more likely to stay in Connecticut than the megacorporation. It should be evident from these statistics why it is so important to support micro-business.
Q. What advice does the council give for microbusiness when it comes to working with the state Department of Transportation and its provision for set asides for contracts with microbusinesses as signed into law last summer?
A. The biggest constraint on a microbusiness is time! Set aside programs are too complex, too wieldy in their language and too time consuming for compliance. Additionally, the payback period is not conducive for the microbusiness from a cash flow standpoint. State and local governments should make a concerted effort to buy from local micro-businesses but the process needs to be simplified. Each government entity should make a mandatory percentage of their budget for purchases through a microbusiness. A competitive allowance of 10 percent should also be afforded in the microbusiness set aside program. After all, “money spent local stays local.” There is a huge trickle-down effect in spending money with a microbusiness.
Q. How are the resources in Connecticut for microbusinesses? What more needs to be done to support them? What is their biggest obstacle?
A. Resources are slim to say the least and microbusinesses do not have one resource to turn to. There is really no cohesive effort to support micro-businesses, but there sorely needs to be. Rob Simmons, the former State Business Advocate in the Rell administration, once said the “Micro is Macro!” He hit the nail on the head; the biggest little engine in the Connecticut economy is the micro-business! By aiding the micro-business we all help ourselves to a better economic future.
The state needs to appoint a microbusiness advocate who can gather information, educate state and local government and its citizenry on the importance of the microbusiness. Additionally, the MB Advocate would help craft legislation, regulations and eliminate roadblocks, thus creating a nurturing environment for micro-businesses to be created, prosper and grow.
