Small businesses and entrepreneurs are key to U.S. economic growth

With the upcoming presidential elections on the tip of everyone’s tongue, both the Republican presidential candidates and President Obama need to do address our nations’s current high unemployment rate, and more importantly, develop a plan on how they can assist small businesses and entrepreneurs in this current economy. 

The Small Business and Infrastructure Jobs Tax Act of 2010, which provided assistance and relief to entrepreneurs and small businesses all around the country, was a good step by Congress but did not go far enough. The bill added an increase in the deduction for start-up expenditures, increasing the limit on the tax deduction for trade or business start-up expenditures and helped small businesses grow. Unfortunately, more needs to be done, right now.

Small businesses can’t grow without access to working capital. In order for entrepreneurs and small businesses to grow, lines of credit, loans and other debt financing need to re-open for our nation’s small-business owners. Access to credit is the lifeline necessary for our economy to turn the tide. Most entrepreneurs don’t even know where to turn. Banks only want to lend if you have the money in the bank and if you’re not profitable yet, don’t even try even if you are meeting your plan. It’s difficult to leverage non-liquid assets, even if they have no debt. 

Having started several successful companies and made Seed Investments in several others, I know the need for access to capital.   

In the end, small business is the engine that will lead us to economic revitalization and growth. Small businesses employ half of all private-sector employees and are the backbone of the economy. Only when Main Street is back on track will our economy follow suit. 

Joseph P. Meyer is the Chairman and Founder of Meyer Capital LLC.