Imitation is the greatest form of flattery. In 1957 Russian novelist Ayn Rand authored “Atlas Shrugged”, a 1,000-page novel that became an instant hit in America. Back in 1991, a survey by the Library of Congress and the Book of the Month Club found that readers rated “Atlas Shrugged” as the second-most influential book in their lives, behind only the Bible.
The popularity of the book remains strong, as evidence by its recent release across the U.S. in major motion picture form.
As summarized by Stephen Moore, a reporter for the Wall Street Journal, the moral of the story is simple: Politicians invariably respond to crises — that in most cases they themselves created — by spawning new government programs, laws and regulations. These, in turn, generate more havoc and poverty, which inspires the politicians to create more programs . . and the downward spiral repeats itself until the productive sectors of the economy collapse under the collective weight of taxes and other burdens imposed in the name of fairness, equality and do-goodism.
Although admittedly not released with the same fanfare, a new book has been released that shines light on many of the current day challenges faced by small business in the U.S.
Built to Fail, authored by UPBT contributing author David Saint-Onge (www.twitter.com/YooperBiz), is a composite view of the many hurdles facing American small business owners. Some of the hurdles are traditional; such as the need for talent, the existence of ever-changing competition, and the need for better technology and greater efficiency. According to Saint-Onge, these are but minimalistic examples of the new and ever-expanding hurdles now faced by small business owners every single day. The changing marketplace in today’s economy has spawned governmental intervention, in the form of new and expanded regulations, increased tax burden, and even governmental competition. Saint-Onge asserts that the long arm of the government has quickly emerged as the biggest threat to American small business. But that’s not all. Social media concerns, unavailability of credit, and a stagnant employment rate also pose significant threats to the American way of small business. As it stands now, small business is in trouble and fundamental structural changes are needed in Washington, at the state capitol and in city halls across this country if small business is to survive and take its traditional place as the true engine of America.
In these trying economic times, Saint-Onge attests to the inevitability that many small business owners will ultimately face in a competitive environment; eat or be eaten. There are reasons why small businesses stay small he argues, and for those business owners who are tired of working harder for less, the time to fix what ails your company is now. Otherwise, according to Saint-Onge, you will soon be working for someone else again.
Built to Fail is an oxymoron. The simple notion that competition, cashflow, marketing, and operational efficiency are the only hurdles facing small business owners each morning when they arrive to work is no longer valid. Fundamental shifts in how businesses are regulated, financed, taxed, and competed against now present a new normal. The book hopes that a simple dose of clarity can help small business owners get their businesses back on-track. After all, despite the incessant chatter about benefitting the social good, going green, and creating regulation that promotes wealth redistribution, Saint-Onge presents numerous examples of why profits are good and American business must be in the business of making money.
The book also presents an in-depth discussion on entrepreneurship. An example includes recent academic research showing that to promote entrepreneurship, government policy should focus on reforming basic institutions to create an environment in which creative individuals can flourish. The needed environment is one of well-defined and enforced property rights, low taxes and regulations, sound legal and monetary systems, proper contract enforcement, and limited government intervention. Saint-Onge points out that when it is all said and done, every business in America was conceptualized, planned, capitalized, started, managed and grown by an entrepreneur. If government gets out of the way, he quips, old-fashioned American entrepreneurship survives on its own.
Perhaps the underlying economic mantra of the book is that money comes from people and businesses that are successful and profitable. If you take away one’s ability to be profitable, who then pays the taxes? Saint-Onge asserts that uncertainty is killing intuition, invention and investment in American small business.
