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Small Business Recession Realities

As a small businessperson, I am appreciative of President Obama's announcement of our "bailout" however I'm not terribly optimistic for what it will do for me.

The focus is on increasing lending and unsticking the frozen credit markets. There is evidence of thawing as some large businesses have informed the government that they will not need loans because they've been able, finally, to secure them in the commercial market. And there are many small businesses who will be helped by credit availability like those who buy equipment, parts, "ingredients" (e.g. seeds for farmers) and have to have cash upfront with revenues coming much later when the product is finished and sold.

For many of us though what we need is customers not debt. Loans to clothing manufacturers or coffeehouse owners so they can buy fabric and beans will do them no good if they cannot sell clothes and lattes because consumers have no jobs and no money with which to purchase what are now luxury items in this economy. And debt, as far as I can see, is useless for those of us in service businesses, like me. The only way the SBA loans and tax breaks will benefit me is if the businesses of potential clients grow and they can purchase the marketing services I sell.

What is really going to put entrepreneurs like me out of business is the cost of health insurance. I started my business at the beginning of 2005. It grew steadily until the recession hit full force last year in 2008. From the end of 2007 (my best year though not yet sufficiently profitable and steady enough to create jobs and hire employees as I'd like to be able to do) to the start of 2009 my revenues declined and my health insurance premiums increased. My premiums went up an anstronomical 62% in one year which translates to thousands of dollars annually. I have to increase my revenue by large double digits just in order to get back to 2007 levels so taking on and servicing additional debt does not seem like the smartest approach at this time. Read this awesome guest post by Karoli Kuns at Francine Hardaway's Huffington Post blog for more about how devastating health care costs are to small and large businesses and the economy in general.

Thus I am in the same boat as many American whether they are small business owners, employees, or among the rapidly growing ranks of the unemployed (and, oh by the way, my state, California, has one of the highest unemployment rates in the country - several of my family members included) - waiting for health care reform and for a tide to lift us all up.

Related Reading:

Melissa at MOMocrats: Is Health Care Reform Possible?

Massachusetts' struggle with cost containment to sustain their universal health care coverage program:

“Frankly, it’s very hard for the average consumer, or frankly the average governor, to understand how some of these companies can have the margins they do and the annual increases in premiums that they do,” Mr. Patrick said in an interview. “At some level, you’ve just got to say, ‘Look, that’s just not acceptable, and more to the point, it’s not sustainable.’ ”

Tip of the Day: Sweet Potato Pie

I read a review in Real Simple Magazine that found Wholly Wholesome brand organic frozen pie crusts to be the best ready-made in their testing.  I noticed that my little neighborhood grocer carried them so I picked up a pack and paired it with a couple of cans of TraderJoe's organic sweet potato puree to make pie. The sweet potato puree has a handy recipe on the back and since there are two pie shells in a pack.

I tried it once faithfully following the recipe on the can. The pie was too sweet and had a poor texture. I made some adjustments to the recipe and tried it again tonight. Once again it was a disappointment.

The pie crust was improved by allowing it to thaw out a bit and pre-baking for a few minutes before filling.  Using it as directed and filling it still frozen resulted in a cardboard-y texture.  Pillsbury and Trader Joe's fold-out ready-made pie crusts have both worked (and tasted) great for me consistently in the past.

For the filling I substituted agave nectar for the sugar and it was not sweet enough. I think possibly using refined sugar rather than the fancy organic, raw, fair-trade sugar I have might have solved the sweetness level but ultimately I think the problem is the texture of the sweet potato puree. I've always made sweet potato pie with sweet potatoes I've cooked and mashed myself with a thicker texture.

So, tip of the day is for sweet potato pie - cook and mash your own taters and unfold a crust. Then enjoy!

Tip of the Day: Jane Velez-Mitchell

I'm going to try out a new feature here. A daily pointer to something I think is worth knowing about. I come across lots of great stuff every day and I want to share the good stuff. It might be a thought provoking article, a useful website, a product I've found to be indespensible, an incredible image, groovy places to visit or someone you should know. You can always check out my del.icio.us account (mrniles) down on the left sidebar or follow me on twitter or friendfeed (marianiles) or read my BlogHer blog to get a sense of stuff I'm finding but this series will serve as a spotlight.

I very much enjoyed this profile of HLN (from CNN and formerly known as Headline News) host Jane Velez-Mitchell. She seems like an interesting person whose life has lead them to some insights that have supported her success. And it gives hope to those of us past our teens and twenties that new frontiers and the best of our life and career can still be ahead of us. Here are some choice bits but I encourage you to read the whole thing.

Jane Velez-Mitchell is a true-crime author, a television talking head, a lesbian, an animal activist, a recovering alcoholic and a vegan. She was until recently a glorified freelancer for Headline News, the sister channel of CNN.

Now she is one of Headline News’s nightly hosts — and her 7 o’clock show is setting ratings records for the network....

After almost two decades in Los Angeles, chasing local news for its CBS affiliate and covering criminal trials for the syndicated show “Celebrity Justice,” Ms. Velez-Mitchell, 53, was content to fill in for Ms. Grace, promote her book about crimes and write a memoir.

In appearances on Ms. Grace’s show starting in 2005, she had been enticed to share opinions, a marked change from her years in local news where, she recalled, producers would tell her to “stick to the copy.”

Having made the leap from news to views, “I kind of sensed that I couldn’t go back” to local journalism, she said. “Which is O.K.: life’s an adventure, and you keep moving forward.”

Ms. Velez-Mitchell said she drew her one-day-at-a-time philosophy from the 12-step program of Alcoholics Anonymous. She will celebrate her 14th year of sobriety on April 1. “That’s really the main thing that informs how I look at the world,” she said. “I’m not in control of anything, so why bother trying to control it?”...

“It’s astounding how little you need to survive, it really is,” she said.