October marked the second annual Women’s Small Business Month, a chance to recognize the growing community of women entrepreneurs nationwide paving the way for fellow women business owners and building a stronger small-business economy. As we head into another election cycle, we should take this opportunity to not only celebrate their achievements, but consider whether our government is doing everything in its power to support them. As a woman small business owner myself, one of my foremost concerns is an increasingly confusing and expensive regulatory landscape.
This issue is particularly significant for California, which boasts the highest number (1.2 million) of woman-owned businesses in the country. Together, these businesses employ an estimated one million workers and generate over $200 billion in revenue each year. This is good news for women in the workforce, it’s good news for our economy, and it’s crucial that we take steps to keep this momentum going and support business owners willing to invest in their communities.
Nearly 10 years ago, I made the decision to leave my career as a practicing attorney to pursue my passion. It was one of the scariest risks I’ve ever taken. Today, I am proud to say I am Nothing Bundt Cakes’ largest, and one of its most influential franchisees, running seven bakeries in San Diego and employing over 100 people.
Yet, while I knew transitioning into self-employment would go hand-in-hand with greater uncertainty, I had no idea how much of it would stem from navigating federal regulations. As a former attorney with some familiarity with the rule-making process, I was aware that it would be impractical for me to attempt to manage my business’ compliance by myself. In order to keep up with the pace of the rules, I hired a full-time specialist and recently added a second position because the workload is just too much — even with me helping. Without this team, it would be impossible to keep up with policy changes, new rules and the steady stream of documents and reporting required.
I often wonder, how would someone manage that had no experience with the nature of government regulations? Or who was unable to afford full-time help? In my opinion, the sheer volume and complexity of the rules coming out of Washington make it extremely difficult to many would-be business owners to get off the ground, much less succeed and grow.
The most difficult part is the uncertainty and liability brought on by regulations. Every day I wake up wondering if something will come at me from Washington or Sacramento without warning — something that could radically change our business reality and force me to restructure, or even cut jobs.
I worry because this has happened before, most recently with the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) joint employer decision. This law essentially strips me of my rights as a small business owner and, instead, makes me a glorified middle man instead. As it stands currently, I share responsibility for my employees and my operations decisions with someone who lives on the other side of the country and doesn’t know my practice or my team. It’s risky for them, it’s frustrating for me and it adds a layer of uncertainty for our workers.
This rule, which is indicative of so many coming out of Washington, doesn’t account for the reality of franchising or running a small business day-to-day. I believe it will discourage business owners to expand and put a damper on the number of people, like me, who are able to get their foot in the door of the small-business economy through the current franchising model. With U.S. small businesses facing a failure rate of 90 percent already, we need our government to be supporting entrepreneurialism. Indeed, nearly 60 million jobs across the country depend on people having the courage to take these risks and make these investments.
There is a better, fairer way to regulate, and it starts with listening to small businesses throughout the regulatory process. Our experiences and perspectives on the practical impact of regulations need to be heard, because without it, our rulemaking process will continue to turn people away and stunt the promising growth of women-owned businesses.
Fortin is the owner of seven Nothing Bundt Cakes bakeries.
