The Big Issues for Small Concerns

(4 of 4)

Batterson: I went on the Internet and pulled off some stuff about George Bush and Al Gore on their programs. I found out that the Small Business Survival Committee, a lobbying group that claims to have 50,000 small-business members, basically gave Governor Bush a B-plus for his small- business program and gave Vice President Gore an F.

I looked at both candidates' positions on their websites, just to see if I agreed with this group. Gore's platform, except maybe a little bit in high technology, is so vague that it's hard to tell if he has a clue about small business. Bush's is a little more specific, but again, a lot of his proposals are from an aerial view of 50,000 ft. They are on topics that really don't affect small-business people and entrepreneurs trying to start their own businesses.

Zigulich: That's true. Our mission is to be successful in spite of the barriers that are laid out by the government. It's difficult to overcome the challenges, but we have to.

This piece was written in coordination with FSB, a Time Inc. magazine that goes to more than 1 million small-business owners