I was just interviewed by Patricia Rogers of the Austin Business Journal . Ms. Rogers is the List Director for ABJ, writes the Growth Strategies and does some wonderful  profiles. She asked me a lot of good questions and I learned something about her. She’s from Houston, we share a love of animals especially horses, and, luckily for Austin, she didn’t follow the advice of her uncle to stay out of journalism (he was a journalist in Houston).

One question she didn’t ask was about a scary moment in business. Mine was scary and the most fun. Last March I did a program for SXSW “Networking for Introverts”. Why was I concerned? What if no one showed up? That didn’t happen. As a matter of fact the room was full to overflowing.

I wondered if they would participate. Not good for a speaker when everyone is silent. No worries here either. I found that if you give an introvert an opportunity to talk, they’ll take it. They came up with good comments and questions. It was a blast that I wish I could repeat.

Tomorrow I do this presentation again for Soroptimist International’s South Central Region District meeting. My friend Pat Turner asked me to speak and I could not say no. Pat a  long term friend. She’s also one of the women from the Austin Women in Construction club that, under Mayor Carole Keeton Strayhorn (aka Carole McClellen), built the Lady Bird Lake (aka Town Lake) gazebo that I love to see and visit year round. So, I feel I owe it to Pat because of the beauty she and her colleagues brought to the city.

Am I scared? Not exactly. I don’t have to worry about attendees since they will be captive. I do wonder if they will take the lessons extroverts can learn from introverts and use them to their advantage to improve their clubs. Soroptimist clubs do great work on behalf of women and girls. I hope they go back and look at their membership differently. I hope they will embrace the quiet ones. Not to change them but to see the beauty they bring and the potential they have.

What’s your scariest time in business?

Next month, it will be four years since I became the Business Liaison Chair for Responsible Growth for Northcross (RG4N).

I chose to get involved because I am a business owner, a small business activist and I live and work in the area.

Last night was the VIP opening of the more neighborhood-sized WalMart on Anderson Lane in Austin, Texas. The RG4N board was invited and several of us went including the original President, Paige Hill.

Our efforts to stop the supercenter were not about size as much as about the impact of that size. That impact includes traffic, litter, security, safety issues for those with disabilities, crime, air and water quality. It was also about the impact on locally owned stores that do not fare well with a big box, especially a WalMart, nearby.

This store, while not perfect, does some good things. I look forward to continued dialogue with the store manager, Scott Gray, on behalf of my fellow business owners from the area.

As Jason Meeker, our Vice President and Communications Chair said, RG4N hopes that people will realize that if things are going on that they don’t think are good for the neighborhood, they should voice their concerns. And, if they work together, they can make a difference.

Independent businesses are parts of our neighborhood. We could not have accomplished what we did without Alamo Drafthouse North, Discount Electronics, Encore Music, Genuine Joe’s Coffee, Kids N Cats, Scandinavia Contemporary Design, Thunderbird Coffee, Zingers and others. They did not just locate their businesses in the neighborhood they were actively engaged in what was going on. And these were the names that my fellow neighbors and board members thanked when we were being interviewed by the media.

What should that tell other independently owned businesses? That these businesses made friends for life. Those who live in the neighborhood see that businesses located in the neighborhood care. They are engaged.

It should also tell every owner that the role of business in neighborhoods should be more than giving donations to the local school or scout group. That’s good, but there’s more to do.

You chose that location for your retail or service business. Now choose to be involved in its future.

What can you do?

1. Be a small business activist.
2. Join your local Neighborhood Association or Home Owners Association if you can. There may be several in your area so look around. In Austin, there is a list of all known active associations at the Austin Neighborhood Council. Most have a membership category for businesses.
3. Read the local neighborhood paper, join and participate in the online neighborhood association discussions or at least stay informed by talking to customers, those who live in the neighborhood, and owners of other local businesses.
4. If there is something that will affect your neighbors, get involved. Offer places for them to meet or put out literature.
5. Help recruit other local businesses that might not have heard about what their “community” is trying to do.

This way you give yourself some control over what happens. Besides, independent businesses can do things that chains and larger businesses can’t without getting permission from a corporate office which may or may not understand.

I know you are busy. So am I. This is not too much to ask. Your future is on the line here, too.

So, just do it. You’ll feel like you are part of something special. You will be. You’ll have a special kind of network. One in which there is give and take and people care about people. One that is about more than prospects and sales.

Finally, tell other businesses what you did. Together, you and your neighbors can keep your community the best it can be for everyone. After all, this is your “business neighborhood”, too. What happens to them effects you.

What have you done lately?

I’ve said for years there’s a problem. The issue of the Bush tax cuts just points this out in spades.

I saw Keith Olbermann’s Countdown program, “Small in Name Only” on MSNBC on September 22, 2010, about the “kooky” (their word not mine) definition of small business. It isn’t weird, it’s just flexible as the Small Business Act intended it to be. Maybe it needs work. I certainly think so.

This is what the SBA (Small Business Administration) says on the FAQs page of their website. You can check me out on this.

“Size standards define the maximum size that a firm, including all of its affiliates, may be to participate in federal government programs that are reserved for small businesses. The Small Business Act states that in determining what constitutes a small business, the definition will vary from industry to industry to reflect industry differences accurately.”

It then goes on to say to read the Small Business Size Act. If you follow the link, you get this:

“The SBA defines a business concern as one that is organized for profit; has a place of business in the U.S.; operates primarily within the U.S. or makes a significant contribution to the U.S. economy through payment of taxes or use of American products, materials or labor; is independently owned and operated; and is not dominant in its field on a national basis. The business may be a sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation, or any other legal form.”

There’s part of my problem. The Countdown show maintains that when it comes to  taxes,  a small business designation is only for “pass through” entities (sole proprietorship, partnership, S corp) and then points out how ridiculous this is. But that statement about legal entity status does not pass the SBA test. Or, at least part of it.

The SBA goes on further to say:

“These size standards apply to SBA’s financial assistance and to its other programs, as well as to Federal government procurement programs when there is a benefit available to qualifying as a small business concern.  Also, the Small Business Act states that unless specifically authorized by statute, no Federal department or agency may prescribe a size standard for categorizing a business concern as a small business concern, unless such proposed size standard meets certain criteria and is approved by the Administrator of SBA.”

The expert that Olbermann brought in to comment really didn’t give a full picture of how federal agencies, including the IRS, are supposed to define “small business”. So why was there no slide of it to give viewers that definition?

Why was no one at the IRS not asked to comment? Better theatre I guess.

Why didn’t the IRS want to comment? Have they screwed up in their definition of “small”? Probably not. Smart tax attorneys found a way to take advantage of that definition.  Other small business owners and I used to joke that if you had a business that was the smallest in your NAICS code, the government defined you as a small business. That would make Chrysler a small business.

Not the only time either that “small” has big consequences. It’s been proposed that venture firms that own part of “small business” be eligible for the really one and only government grant, the SBIR (Small Business Innovation Research Grant). Now, that is really weird and in my view and others it’s also totally unfair!

In other words, just because you say you are “small” does not by government standards say you are. Of course, these definitions refer to programs for small businesses including procurement and loan guarantee assistance. Shouldn’t a federal definition be the same across all areas of government including taxes? I always thought so or how can anyone keep up with being an on again off again small business.

Where is the IRS on all this? Nowhere to be seen. Odd. For years, the IRS director just around tax time would go on record saying that the regulators would be on the lookout for small businesses because we were all out to cheat the government. Maybe these men and women were thinking of the businesses like Bechtel and Price Waterhouse Coopers that were labeled by Olbermann as  “small businesses”. By whose definition? Be specific. Where are they getting their definition? Let’s see it!

I am not saying I am for reducing taxes for the wealthiest. I am saying check your facts before you get out the tar and feathers. I’ve been a moderator (for KUT radio’s nationally syndicated show “The Next 200 Years”)  and there are rules even for commentators.

If you would like to read more about the size standards and judge for yourself about who the heck people are talking about, here are some useful links.

• Size Standards Methodology
• Small Business Size Regulations
• Table of Size Standards
• Summary of Size Standards by Industry
• Guide to Size Standards
• Size Protests, Size Determinations, and Appeals
• Revision of Size Standards
• Use of Size Standards for Government Procurement
• Businesses Determined Other Than Small

And, if you don’t think that’s confusing enough, the states have their own definitions by statute. In Texas, a small business is defined in Vernon’s Civil Statutes as under 100 employees. That said, if you look just at the latest statistics on the number of firms in the Austin Metropolitan Statistical Area, there are 35,129 firms under 500 employees. About 880 of them have from 100-499 employees. That’s 2.51 % of that total; pretty close to the 3% people are yelling about. And, this percentage holds true in most MSAs where I can find numbers. (These particular numbers are provided by the nonpartisan LMCI division at the Texas Workforce Commission.)

Some of those 880 are probably making a lot than $250,000 in order to support the overhead of that number of employees. And, unlike the commentator would lead one to believe, I’ll bet they are not all Republicans. I could be wrong on that and I can’t exactly check. But, it would seem reasonable given the bigger small business owners I have met are not from just one party. (Some of their spouses have even served as Democrats in the legislature and elsewhere.)

What good can come out this mess? Maybe, the powers that be will get real and come up with a definition that actually and accurately defines who we small businesses really are. How about media people being a help to solve the problem instead of exploiting it. Yes, there are some who don’t quality for the term. Then change the tax laws and stop stomping on small business as a whole.

Finally, you never even talked to one of us to see our take on this issue of definition and taxes. Call me, Mr. Olbermann. I’ll talk to you about what it’s like to be a very small business owner who pays taxes, meets payroll, and provides for health insurance for staff for over 20 years.

No ivory tower wanted here. Instead let’s tell them like it is!

I have been asked to testify before the Texas Senate’s Economic Development Committee about our small business climate. I have my own observations from my clients but I would like input from other business owners and hope you will make sure I have the best information to give them about what we want and need.

I have put together a 10 question survey. Click here to take survey. This is your chance to be heard.

Thank you and please respond before Sept. 15. I will post what happens at the hearing so check back.

Special thanks to Jules Says and Julie Gomoll for helping me with the technology to do this. And I want to thank Will Newton, Executive Director of National Federation of Independent Business in Texas for asking me to do this and Senator Mike Jackson (District 11) for requesting this information for his committee.

Here’s to our success!

I wrote a post in April about Austin’s March Small Business Summit.

What is Austin City Manager Marc Ott doing about the Small Business Summit Resolution?

I have not seen City Manager Marc Ott’s proposed budget. I am curious to see if he followed Council’s directive and included anything about how the City will try to address the needs and wants expressed by the 40 business representatives that were part of the original Summit.

According to the resolution that passed in June, Ott has 120 days to come back to Council with a report and policy recommendations to enhance the City’s effort to facilitate growth of locally-owned businesses.

That means there may be nothing in the budget. If his budget passes, it looks like it will mean higher sales and property taxes (and they wonder why we aren’t  hiring or buying).

If you are a business owner  in Austin, you also should want to know if there is anything in it for you.

It is not only the City’s responsibility to take action of course. Those of us who are the visionaries behind those businesses have responsibilities, too.

As for this visionary, I would like to know what, if anything, the City can and wants to do along with a time frame so I can see how it will affect my plans.

Part of the reason, is that like many other businesses, I find that sometimes the City  becomes my competitor by offering goods and services that are already competitively available from me or other locally-owned for-profit businesses.

Where is the call to see if these goods and services for local businesses already exist?

I would like to see the City see what is out there and how it can engage in promoting those locally-owned businesses first before deciding it has to be our 800 pound competitor. I saw some requests on the list and heard some at the Summit that I know companies in the Austin area already provide and I would be happy to help identify them.

Let’s keep local money circulating locally. That’s just good business and appropriate economic development. If we do, that means that hard-working City staff can focus on what they do best. There will be no need for the City to hire because local businesses will do the hiring. That’s what they keep asking us to do. The City can help us do that.

Because we are local businesses we have had to make payroll, pay taxes, and fulfill our regulatory obligations. We really do know how to better serve other businesses than any well-meaning bureaucrat ever will. (Before I started my business 28 years ago, I was a bureaucrat so I know.)

What can the City do for your business to make it stronger?

Austin, Texas’ small business and entrepreneurial history is long and full. There were special support meetings called “Satellite Network Meetings” all over town and even in Round Rock long before there were Meetups and Bootstrap groups.

And, there was The Networker, a small monthly publication especially for women. From June 1980 to its last issue in August 1987, I wrote, managed or was its editor. We covered politics, interesting women, events around town, the arts, business, sports, education, healthcare, and jobs. We covered issues from the ERA to “Should women fear computers?” And, yes, that was the title of an article. We covered women magicians like Judy Wilkes and Valerie Cordell, early aviators like Pearle Ragsdale, truck racer Shawna Robinson, women firefighters and women at war. Young and old, of all colors, creeds, and backgrounds were included in our news.  We even did some interesting articles about men including Cactus Pryor and cartoonist Ben Sargent.

The Networker was originally a City project that came out of what I believe to be Austin’s  first networking event, the Austin Women’s Network Brunch, sponsored by the Austin Commission on Women (then called the Austin Commission on the Status of Women). The brunch was an outgrowth of the 1979 Women’s Conference.

We soon became a non-profit corporation and moved away from control of the City. The magazine’s slogan was “The Paper Texas Women Read”. And, they did. In its heyday, it had several thousand paid subscribers and  a circulation of 7000 readers without ever receiving any City funding.

In 1984, then mayor Ron Mullen declared July 17 as Networking Day and “called on all citizens to recognize the contributions made by The Networker in promoting equality of opportunity in the job market” and presented us with our first proclamation. Awesome!

Putting it together was an all volunteer effort except for the typesetter and printer. I feel very privileged to have worked with a very talented group of women including Meg Wilson, Nadea Gizelbach, Billie Passmore, Mary Margaret Navar, Lu Russell, Martha Hartzog, Beverly Scarborough, Brenda Trainor, Mary Bird Bowman, Leslie Geballe, Beverly Larkham, Theresa Feschek, Fancharm Gibson, Mary Wheeler, and Barbara Brown.  There were some great men associated with us as well including Austin historian Ed Van De Vort, Joe Stengel, Craig Meurer, and photographer Dan Diener.

But the most fun was working with my mother, Jane Dinsmoor. It was her fault I was there anyway because she suggested I write for The Networker. I did. The column was called “After Image”.

Then she suggested I become The Networker’s Managing Editor since I was such a good nag. She meant that sincerely and with great pride. So I did.  I must have done ok because I became the Editor. I can tell you The Networker gave me the best education into how Austin works and how to network.

Besides giving me motherly advice, she wrote a wonderful column called “Overtime” each month and “People” where she interviewed well known and less well known women including architect Judy Brown, international storyteller Helen Handley, Eleanor Richards (Gov. Ann Richards mother-in-law and politico herself), and scholar Dorothy Hartshorne. Much of the snail mail we got or the comments made to me in public were about her articles. I was very proud of her, too.

August 5th would have been her 92 birthday. With great affection, admiration and thanks, I want to reprise one of her best loved articles, “The Cockroach”. A “fitting” subject as she would say for summer in Texas. Enjoy.

If you have memories of those Satellite Meetings, The Networker or other activities that helped spur small business or entrepreneurial development in our area, please share it.

———————–

Overtime
by Jane Dinsmoor

from The Networker, Vol 2, Issue 1, January/February 1981

Wishful Thinking: A Pied Piper to get rid of cockroaches. Photo by bixentro.

In Austin it is now perfectly within the bounds of good manners to discuss the common roach. I’m glad. Silent emotional storms of that magnitude are the pits. True, whole generations of ladies lived their lives denying the existence of both diarrhea and roaches, but those ladies are known as forebearers. In the North one still refers to the critters as “Building Beetles. . .Water Bugs. . .not Roaches, you know.”

According to my dictionary, “roach” is short for “cockroach” which is “any one of a family of insects; especially a small brownish or yellowish species found in kitchens, around water pipes, etc.”

The only thing correct about that definition is the etc., and I need a new Austin-type dictionary. Actually a roach is any of a thundering herd of other similar insects. Their colors are best described as repellent roach brown, repellent roach black, etc. And smallish? The smallish-est you have to worry about weighs in at 15 pounds. You can tell a little one because it’s only carrying two sacks of potatoes.

But to continue. . .it is ridiculous to think that anyone ever went out looking for a roach! “Found,” indeed. They pop out of drains anytime anyone turns on the water; they pose majestically on toilet tanks; they stampede across the kitchen floor at night; they appear with the desert at any meal to which guests have been invited. Give me a quick-moving Southern guest who can stomp a roach off the rug and never spill the syllabub.

My dictionary also states that the word “cockroach” is an “alteration of the Spanish word ‘cucaracha’”. . .and what does that do to international relations? But there are also German cockroaches. My friend the exterminator told me so. We have had many, many, of these discussions over coffee as we waited for the fog to settle so we could count casualties. “Yoicks!” says he. “Yoicks!” says I. “I think it’s safe for you to have house guests now. . . if they come right away.”

He also told me you never get rid of roaches. . .just keep them at bay. I know what he means. They kept me at bay for the first three months I was in Austin. My greatest triumph came when, at the height of the battle, I lashed out, connected, and kicked a big one smack in the head!

Keep roaches at bay indeed! Light up the Tower! Give me my spray, my swatter, and my good right foot! I will overcome!

Photo link for bixentro.

There must be a better way. And, I went tonight to see if I could find someone to lead the way.

I was invited by Bijoy Goswami of Bootstrap Austin to attend an event sponsored by the Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) in Austin that was billed as an “Intimate Conversation with Bill White”. Bill White, former mayor of Houston, is running against Rick Perry for Texas Governor this fall. It turns out that White is an honorary EO member.

Former Houston Mayor Bill White is running for TX Governor

It was intimate as promised. I was about two feet away from the man who started by saying that he was pleased to be here for this “job interview” which brought some chuckles. In his prepared remarks, he said if he were “hired”, he would run the state like a customer-centered business. He would focus on what people want, not what the state wanted to “sell”. Sounds pretty good.

When Q&A time came, I asked Mayor White a question about how he viewed the state’s role in something that is near and dear to my heart: the role of government especially in hard economic times when there are tough decisions to be made.

I referred to what the state should do when you have warring factions and differing interests when it comes to economic development and property rights. I should know. I have spent three years of my life focusing with a great group of people, my neighbors and fellow business owners from Responsible Growth for Northcross, an organization that was formed to try to keep our neighborhoods livable and our independent businesses sustainable against WalMart, the biggest corporate giant since the Roman empire.

In addition, during that fight I found my own city government allied against us instead of being neutral or acting as a facilitator. I also saw them take a more appropriate role over a similar redevelopment issue with a neighborhood  in the university area that did not have Allandale Neighborhood Association’s reputation of fighting changes that it felt would destroy the quality of life and the safety and well being of those who live there. The outcome of this fight was viewed by all as a precedent for the future of other neighborhoods in other parts of Austin and in other cities that faced this dilemma of redevelopment vs. retention.

White’s response to my question about economic development controversies

Perhaps Mayor White misunderstood my question about the state’s role in this aspect of economic development. First he asked me if I wanted the truth. I said “yes”. Then, he said that he did not think that the state should take sides but should let this be decided locally. I appreciate his honesty because I do believe he really does feel that way.

I agree that the state should not take sides in this kind of issue although in Texas, Austinites frequently feel like the District of Columbia, that there is a lot of “Austin-bashing” when it comes to legislation that only applies to us.

But, I disagree on the “no role” to play. What I hoped he would say is that he thought, like a well managed business, that the state should take the higher road and seek ways for the parties to get to know each other and arrive at some mutually agreed upon points so they can reduce the mistrust and anger and get something done.

White says he is a doer. I thought he would want to do something. Guess I was wrong. Texas has an $18 million shortfall. To get through this, we all need to cooperate and find a way that neighbors and businesses large and small, local and recruited can be heard and have a mediator, even an ombudsman to discuss things safely.

For a few years, Texas did have a small business ombudsman under the Department of Economic Development. Not that this lone person got involved in these kinds of issues, but maybe they should have. Of course, with just one person to cover the whole state, that was probably not reasonable. But, maybe as White touted when talking about his accomplishments in Houston, one person could focus on finding others to help out and together they could get things done.

What I think the government’s role should be in economic development controversies

How do I view government’s role? What is my expectation? It is one based on my experiences. I worked for the state before starting a business. I have worked on political campaigns. I have helped with voter registration and for years kept these forms available and visible for anyone who came to our offices. I have walked door to door. I have been a delegate to local, state and national summits. I have been and am a small business activist.

I don’t believe in big government. I don’t believe in small government either. I do believe in adequate government, enough to do the job and that there are some issues that require a 40,000 foot view just as it takes a 40,000 foot view to run a successful business.

In regard to the issue of economic development, I believe we need to attract business. We also need to retain, sustain and grow our local businesses while protecting the integrity and safety of neighborhoods. We have limited resources and we will be borrowing from Peter to pay Paul. Maybe though, Peter and Paul could agree to share and play nice if there were someone setting the rules and guiding the process. Someone who had that vision. I am not sure White is any different than any of the other politicians current and past.

I do have one hopeful memory to draw on. When the Americans with Disabilities Act was signed into law twenty years ago this week, there were a lot of mad and confused people. Some thought it was the end of  business as we knew it, businesses would go bankrupt trying to comply, and that the goals were unattainable and unreal. The Governor’s Office on People with Disabilities with support of  Governors Ann Richards (D) and later George W. Bush (R) and under Virginia Roberts, its wonderful executive director, brought together a charter group of businesses to create the Governor’s Business Leaders Network. My company was part of that charter group. We were all volunteers. Together, we came up with ideas that we could disseminate to our peers and make this transition easier and better for all. I am proud of what we did. I think this is a good pattern to follow.

Call me Goldilocks if you like but fairy tales have lessons to learn in them. And, if you remember, Goldilocks did find things that were just right because she kept looking. (Yes, there was some damage along the way.) Well, nothing is perfect.

What is your opinion?

How do you think we could build a better Texas for us all; something neighbors and businesses could live with and coexist? Maybe we can give whoever becomes governor some better ideas. I’m game are you? It might even help out other parts of the country or the world.

I want to thank Mr. Goswami for the invitation. I learned a lot and was inspired to raise some issues that I think need to be considered before we vote in November.

I would like to congratulate Austin Mayor Lee Leffingwell and the  City Council for holding its first Small Business Summit in March.

Forty of us were invited by Council Members and the Austin Independent Business Alliance to come and give our thoughts on the major ways the City could address business owners concerns. I was invited to participate by Council Member Laura Morrison, who was the former President of the Austin Neighborhoods Association among her other achievements.

As a small business activist with almost thirty years of talking, testifying, watching and waiting, it was nice to see old comrades and make new allies. It was also nice to be included in this new effort to support small business. To me, Austin’s small business and entrepreneurial history is as relevant to this discussion as the latest news.

At my table were hotshots including the keynote speaker Lemeul Williams of Uptime Devices, long time retailer and commercial landlord Lynn Raredon, Laura Trzpit, the General Manager of one of Austin’s unique spaces Casa de Luz, Jimmy Flannigan from Site Street, a web hosting and design firm that helped keep Choose Austin First members connected, and newcomer Nicole Rogers who is starting an IT training business.

The Summit was limited to two hours. Pretty short and sweet. The first half hour was devoted to welcome remarks and the keynote. This made our time even shorter.

We had been asked to prepare to discuss three  questions:
1.  What steps could the City take to better assist small local business owners with planning and development?
2.  What steps could the City take to help create a better overall environment for small local business owners to succeed?
3.  What are some specific obstacles you have encountered in interacting with the City, and how do you believe these could be addressed?

With the help of our facilitator, Lupe Morin, a former City staffer,  we determined the issues for our table. Then we were given three minutes to present those to the whole group. A total of about sixteen different items were presented as needing City attention with several “dittoes” as time got shorter and other tables came up with similar issues.

By an odd quirk of fate, this very “public” meeting had not been posted in advance. This meant that the Mayor and Council had to rotate through the 90 minutes of discussion making sure there was never a quorum present in the room so they would not violate the Open Meetings ruling. From my perspective, it meant that Council Members got only a partial picture.

My Concerns

Without taking anything away from the Summit or the report that is being assembled by Rosie Jalifi and the City’s Small Business Development Program staff, I want to mention four concerns I have.

1. No context.

Because we did not hear the discussion at the other tables and were only presented with the issue as part of a list, it is hard to tell if some of the concerns people listed were universal or more industry specific for instance, home owners vs music venues; certain kinds of permitting; the power of the Neighborhood Associations. I presented for our table and found it hard in such a short amount of time to help the other tables understand the context of our issues. I know the other presenters had a similar problem.

Since each Council member only heard  part of the discussion, I believe their perception is even more compromised. How these are presented in the report is going to be very interesting and a real challenge for staff.

2. Size considerations.

Small is a relative term. At the federal level, it refers to those with less than 500 employees. State definitions generally use 100 employees as the cutoff and then use another term for an even smaller firm, a “micro business”, one with less than 20 employees. In the Austin area, over 80% of our small businesses are really micro businesses where the owner is the owner/investor, manager, and employee.

Again, it would be useful for Council and staff to know what the issues are by size or complexity of the business. It does make a difference when it comes to deciding where the City can or should make changes. As one of these “micro” businesses and as someone who works exclusively with owners of enterprises of this size, I can guarantee you we look at life and work differently than Yellow Cab, one of the other Summit participants.

3. Not enough clarity. Not enough time.

The Summit could have focused on identifying problems or recommending solutions. I think it tried to do too much in too little time. As a result, what I heard from the three-minute presentations from the other tables was a mixture of both. I am not sure what conclusions I would draw if I were either staff or Council.

For many years in the 90′s, Texas regularly held the Governor’s Conference on Small Business. Business owners from all over the state gathered to talk about problems and issues and propose solutions. Then we went to work to get it done. It was great brainstorming and strong networking. This ended in about 2000 and NFIB (National Federation of Independent Business) and other groups started to hold Small Business Legislative Day. Not as good but better than nothing.

As a former delegate to the Governor’s and White House Conference and Congressional Summit on Small Business, I have seen real change come from this kind of event. My feeling is that this takes more time than two hours on one day in March.

4. The beginning or the end.

This is my biggest concern.

The Austin City Council has started something with this Small Business Summit. It could really be of major assistance to the City’s desire to remain a great place to start and run a business. Or it could be just a “two-hour trick pony”, a false start leading nowhere. My hope that is that this gets more attention and resources and that it continues.

Austin has made some efforts. For years, we have had City Commissions for minority and women-owned business. Good work has been done but not enough. In addition, this has left out other businesses and divided the small business community into two camps. The economic pie is too small for that to continue.

It is time that Austin find ways to support a united small business community while recognizing that we do have some unique concerns because of our size and industry differences.

At the Summit, Mayor Leffingwell talked about our contribution to job creation and also to maintaining jobs. We also contribute to the uniqueness of Austin that comes from having a large number of locally owned and operated lifestyle businesses. We are an important part of Austin’s quality of life now and hopefully always.

As I have before, I will wait and see how the issues are reported. As I have already done, I will present my concerns to Council Members who I think really want to hear from small business owners like me.

Recommendation to Other Owners

If you own a business, I encourage you  to get involved. Pay attention to what is happening. What happens in Washington is important but a long way away from here. What happens in Austin, happens to you and works either for you or against you.

I am also interested in what are your concerns and issues. Please post a comment or contact me directly at triplett@bscusa.com. I look forward to continuing this effort whether you are from Austin or elsewhere. Your insights are relevant, too.

Caduceus image courtesy of Wikopedia Commons

If my cat is sick. I take her to  Dr. Roy Brenton Smith, at Central Texas Cat Hospital. He’s great and used to host weekly sessions where vets shared information on tough cases.

If he needs a specialist, he calls one or gets me into the wonderful folks at Texas A&M Veterinary Hospital. They have served more than 2500 vet referrals from 164 of Texas’s 254 counties and 31 of the 50 United States .

When it comes to cat care, I know that everyone is in touch with each other. I don’t have pet insurance but I know that they will care for her. They won’t “pass the buck”.

I have people insurance. I provide it to my employees. I thought I knew how things worked. After all, I am a doctor’s daughter. I worked in a hospital as a Nurse Aide my very first job in high school. My dearest friend is a cardiac nurse. My sister-in-law is a retired pediatrician.

Last Friday night I found I knew nothing.

WARNING: Doctor’s children and family members make terrible paitents and cause trouble. So here am I causing trouble for people I have a high respect for in terms of their skills and abilities. I have left out the names and places on purpose. This is unfortunately not unique to these medical professionals  or facilities but seems to be SOP — standard operating procedures — now.

My dear friend in Austin emailed me that she was at a hospital with her 87 year old mother and no one was talking to her or doing anything. It was late Friday afternoon and she was worried that no one would do anything since we were going into a weekend.

She related how she had taken her mother there the night before because she thought she was having a stroke or heart attack. The doctor in ER had been great, she said. That was in the early evening.. That’s good; they should. There’s a sign in the lobby of this hospital — not sure if there’s one in ER — that says anyone can get treatment here, insurance or not, and will be stabilized to move to another hospital if necessary.

She only took her mother there after she tried to get help from a very large, 19-office medical care facility Thursday afternoon. It  had taken care of her dad when he was alive. Her mother had not been sick and so had had little need of doctors up to this point. Her mother had insurance – two kinds, Medicare and another. But, they did not take either kind of insurance and would not take her. Nothing more. No one bothered to extend any effort to give her an alternative suggestion or pick up the phone.

REMINDER TO SELF: See if the hospital and doctors’ offices list the insurance they take so I don’t have to bother them with my illness or injury. Maybe they could put it on their front door as retailers do with credit cards. Then I would not even have to go inside.

My friend then took her mother to her internal medicine doctor who had seen her mother on several occasions. ) He would know what to do and do it she was sure. (That’s what we used to do in the good old days.)

They left her sitting alone with her mother in a room, no help. Finally after some period of time when no one came, she grabbed a nurse to get a wheelchair because her mother was in acute pain and passing out. It turned out this doctor had no admitting privileges. That meant, even if he had seen her, he could not get her into a hospital. But, he never saw her and no one ever bothered to tell my friend that he could not help.

REMINDER TO SELF: Be sick and start a file with a doctor who admits and has hospital privileges. Be sure to check which one and that you are current.

By the time I arrived at 4pm Friday, my friend was beside herself. She was trying to decide whether this was the right place or if she should move her to another hospital. Again, no help from anyone. And, worse no info. My friend camped out  all night and had to tell the tech 4 times that the alarm was going off. Finally, the tech agreed to look. Lo and behold, it was off. I used to work night shift for awhile and sometimes the family has to do things. But, she is not a doctor. This was not necessary. The hospital staff was just sitting around.

The hospital took her mother’s insurance. She was admitted and was in a room. They had run some tests the night before but it was 3pm  Friday before they saw a doctor. And, that seemed only to happen because my friend kept asking the nurse when the doctor was coming. The wonderful woman did call and 10 minutes later, a doctor appeared like magic.All she knew was that they had not seen signs of a heart attack or stroke.

REMINDER TO SELF: Bring your own nag or advocate.

The doctor came late that afternoon. He examined her but had given no indication who he was other than his name. Immediate surgery was his recommendation. But, what kind of doc was he? My friend thought he might be a heart surgeon. Was this surgery which would be life changing really necessary? All these questions ran through her head.

I thought I could help. I started to see what we could find out about the doctor. He’s great, by the way, but a typical surgeon. Enough said. But at the time, an unknown entity. Nurses know a lot so I talked to them. (When you wanted the real scoop, that’s what we used to do.) I talked to his office to get some background on him. They said I could get information on him on line. I told her I was calling from the hospital and did not have a computer available.

REMINDER TO SELF – Always take your computer with you when you go to the doctor’s office or the hospital. It seems to be expected.

I thought I could find an advocate for my friend’s mother. Someone who could help coordinate her care and answer questions, like the vet does for my cat, like my father did for his patients. So I started down my network of contacts. My friends helped. Even their clients who were with them tried to help.  One even gave me his niece, Elizabeth, who works with indigent patients. She was a godsend and dropped everything. She called the doctors she knew and gave me the names of others to try. But, even she could not help. Her referrals did not take medicare patients or did not admit or did not do something. I have never felt so helpless in all my life.

I heard on NPR later that weekend that Congress is going to pass something in healthcare once they dig out of the snow. Good for them.

But, bad for them because they are missing something critical.  We cannot  accept poor health “care” that no one is dealing with while we worry about healthcare insurance.

For those of you who look to Canada and other countries, my European ex-pat friends have a lot to say and there are  major lawsuits in England right now about quality of care. That may seem one-sided. I believe in access to healthcare for everyone. I think that the previous condition exclusion is bad medicine. And, access to insurance does not mean that you can get care – especially if it is Medicare.

But my friend and her mother did not get care. They did not get doctors and their staff who made sure something was done for this woman and her family. Most just said, not us. Go somewhere else.

My father used to tell stories of patients who came in, no money, and if he could not help them directly, he took the initiative to see they got care somewhere. Is that too much to ask?

Are our health care people so afraid that they won’t even spend a little time to help? Too busy to pick up the phone and at least refer or comfort or inform?

Checklist Manifesto, a new book by Dr. Atul Gawande, M.D.

Now, there is a good old-fashioned checklist in use in too few hospitals that was developed by Dr. Atul Gawande, M.D.  for the World Health Organization. It has cut down after surgery complications and reduced deaths in poor and rich hospitals where it is in use. He also has a book out, The Checklist Manifesto. One of the checklist items: introduce yourself. Some hospitals or doctors are reluctant to use a checklist. How weird is that? They are very smart, no one doubts that, but they have too much to remember. A checklist is an innocuous, relatively painless item.

Do we need ta  enact a Health CARE law? To remind doctors and staff what their responsibilities are – total patient care not just come in and take over. A checklist and some old fashioned courtesy seem a good low cost way to start asap.

We should address the “care” in health care or see if we can find a nice vet willing to take on another species, human beings. I think I will start offering pet insurance to my employees. I think it might improve their health.

Contact your Senator and Congresspeople. Tell them you want care back in healthcare. To find contact information for your representatives go to House or Senate.

Postcript. The surgery seems to have gone well. My friend and her mother now have a great advocate and the day staff on Friday and over the weekend were terrific. They now feel that people care. And, as I said the surgeon turned out to be terrific. But, very surgeon-like. All you doctor’s and doctors’ family members can relate.

Special thanks to Jon Lebkowsky for referencing these links e-patients.net and jopm.org that focus on participatory medicine.

It’s been a long fight as Fox 7  Reporter Rudy Koski pointed out in this interview with me and people who were pro or anti a big supercenter in the center of Austin at Northcross Mall.

Are people tired of it? Some are. Almost five years is a long time to keep volunteers working together on an issue.

This interview story was not my first choice for 15 seconds of fame, but I was glad to be asked to respond as a business owner who offices next to the WalMart site and as Business Liaison Chair for Responsible Growth for Northcross (RG4N). I learned a lot in the process and so did people on both sides of the issue. Now, RG4N and I will wait and see how it goes. We could all live happily ever after or there could be more black empty holes and store fronts — including WalMart. I promise you, I will be watching closely.

I am glad I took part in the democratic process. It reassured me it is ok to dissent with anyone even if it is unpopular. It is a messy process. I may not agree with everyone on each side, but I will defend their right to speak and I expect them to defend mine. And, I saw this up close and personal.

There  is still a WalMart going in on streets that are not designed to handle the traffic, security issues must be paramount going forward because of homes and schools nearby, and air and water quality need to be addressed before it is too late.

Northcross Mall is now Northcross strip center. It was not doing well before, maybe it will do well now. Maybe it will all work out.

Some good things happened. Neighbors met neighbors from other neighborhoods and worked with them to have a say about a future that seemed pre-destined because of the powers in charge. Neighbors worked directly with the people behind the independent businesses that make our area unique. They saw them as people who were just as interested and committed to  the health and well being of our area as they were. Equally important, finally the City of Austin recognized us as a united group, the Northcross IBIZ, an Austin Independent Business Investment Zone, that also had rights and that they had responsibilities to protect. (Read my related post and another related post by the  Austinist.)

Being a business owner not just about sales and the bottom line. It  is also being an activist for your community and your business — even in tough times.

Next time someone asks “will you serve? “, say yes. It will change your life and the lives of others.

What are you doing to “serve”?