Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council

SBE COUNCIL'S MISSION IS TO PROMOTE ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND PROTECT SMALL BUSINESSES. THROUGH ADVOCACY, EDUCATION, AND RESEARCH SBE COUNCIL WORKS TO STRENGTHEN THE ECOSYSTEM FOR STARTUPS AND SMALL BUSINESS GROWTH. SBE COUNCIL INTEGRATES ADVOCACY, RESEARCH, EDUCATION AND TRAINING TO ACHIEVE THESE GOALS.

ADVOCACY AND OUTREACH: SBE COUNCIL'S ADVOCACY WORK CONTINUED TO FOCUS ON THE AFTERMATH OF COVID-19 - SUPPLY CHAIN SHORTAGES, RISING PRICES, WORKFORCE SHORTAGES, THE NEED FOR POLICY CERTAINTY - AND THE GOVERNMENT'S RESPONSE TO SUPPORTING SMALL BUSINESSES AND THE NEW STARTUPS THAT WERE EMERGING DURING THIS PERIOD. PRIMARILY, POLICY EFFORTS CENTERED ON ENSURING THE OFF-RAMP FROM PANDEMIC-ERA POLICIES WOULD NOT CREATE BURDENS OR UNCERTAINTIES FOR SMALL BUSINESSES. OTHER KEY EFFORTS TURNED TO MONITORING AND COMMENTING ON SIGNIFICANT REGULATORY INITIATIVES WITHIN THE FEDERAL AGENCIES TO ENSURE LAWS WERE COMPLIED WITH RELATING TO REQUIREMENTS THAT AGENCIES CONSIDER THE EFFECTS ON SMALL BUSINESSES IN DEVELOPING NEW REGULATIONS AND THE COST IMPACT OF PROPOSED REGULATIONS. WE DISTRIBUTED 29 LETTERS TO CONGRESS, WHICH TOUCHED ON LEGISLATION EFFECTING CAPITAL ACCESS AND AFFORDABILITY, IP PROTECTIONS, HEALTH CARE COSTS, WORKFORCE ISSUES, QUALITY BROADBAND ACCESS, U.S. COMPETITIVENESS, THE HARMFUL DOWNSTREAM EFFECT OF PROPOSED TECH BILLS ON SMALL BUSINESSES, AND TAX AND BUDGET POLICY. ON THE BUDGET, SBE COUNCIL ADVOCATED AGAINST TAX INCREASES AND EXCESSIVE SPENDING THAT WOULD FUEL INFLATIONARY PRESSURES AND HARM SMALL BUSINESS COMPETITIVENESS. SBE COUNCIL SUPPORTED MEASURES TO MAINTAIN KEY TAX INCENTIVES SUCH AS STEPPED-UP BASIS, IMMEDIATE R&D EXPENSING AND OTHER PIECES OF THE 2017 TAX RELIEF PACKAGE THAT HAVE SUPPORTED SMALL BUSINESS. OUR TEAM TESTIFIED THREE TIMES BEFORE CONGRESS ON BIPARTISAN AND PRACTICAL HEALTH CARE REFORMS, POLICIES THAT WOULD HELP SMALL BUSINESSES WITH WORKER SHORTAGES, AND "ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN THE NEW ECONOMY" DRIVEN BY DIGITAL ACCELERATION. WE PROVIDED TESTIMONY FOR THE RECORD FIVE OTHER TIMES ON "COMPETITION" ISSUES, THE BIPARTISAN INFRASTRUCTURE PACKAGE AND BROADBAND ACCESS. REGULATORY COMMENTS AND ENGAGEMENT FOCUSED ON RULEMAKINGS THAT WOULD NEGATIVELY IMPACT THE STARTUP ECOSYSTEM VIA MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS, SMALL BUSINESS INVESTORS AND THE SMALL BUSINESSES THAT ADVISE THEM, AND DISRUPTIVE RULES THAT WOULD ALSO DRIVE WORKPLACE COSTS HIGHER FOR SMALL BUSINESSES. WE WEIGHED IN ON SIGNIFICANT RULEMAKINGS (FIVE COMMENTS FILED), FOR EXAMPLE, AT THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AND NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD ON PROPOSED REGULATIONS THAT WOULD DISRUPT CRITICAL ENTREPRENEURIAL MODELS - SUCH AS INDEPENDENT CONTRACTING, FRANCHISING, AND SELF-EMPLOYMENT - THAT WOULD UNDERMINE ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN THE U.S. SBE COUNCIL ENGAGED SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS AND THE POLICY COMMUNITY BY AUTHORING AND DISTRIBUTING 43 POLICY BRIEFS ON THE AFOREMENTIONED ISSUES, KEEPING OUR LIST OF OVER 202,000 ENTREPRENEURS AND PARTNERS UP-TO-DATE VIA OUR SMALL BUSINESS INSIDER E-NEWS (72 PUBLISHED AND DISTRIBUTED), THE GROWTH WITHOUT BARRIERS PODCAST (12 RECORDED), AND 25 IN-PERSON BRIEFINGS AND ROUNDTABLES ON CAPITOL HILL AND WITH ENTREPRENEURS.

OTHER - MEDIA AND COMMUNICATIONS: THE MEDIA AND EARNED MEDIA SERVE AS AN EFFECTIVE PLATFORM FOR SBE COUNCIL TO EDUCATE ON KEY ISSUES, POLICIES AND RESOURCES THAT ENTREPRENEURS AND SMALL BUSINESSES NEED TO COMPETE AND SUCCEED. SBE COUNCIL UTILIZES A WIDE RANGE OF MEDIA CHANNELS AND TECHNOLOGY TOOLS TO HELP EDUCATE ENTREPRENEURS AND THE PUBLIC ABOUT ISSUES AND CHALLENGES FACING SMALL BUSINESSES, WHICH HELPS TO BUILD AWARENESS AND SUPPORT FOR THE POLICIES AND RESOURCES THAT SMALL BUSINESSES NEED. SBE COUNCIL REGULARLY SPEAKS TO THE MEDIA - VIA INTERVIEWS, RADIO AND TV APPEARANCES, AND THROUGH EVENTS - AND PUBLISHES OP-EDS, BLOG POSTS AND PODCASTS TO DISCUSS TOP ISSUES AND SHARE "HOW TO" INFORMATION AND TRENDS. THE TEAM PUBLISHED 10 OP-EDS, RELEASED 36 PRESS RELEASES OR STATEMENT, CONDUCTED 12 PODCASTS, DISTRIBUTED 72 SMALL BUSINESS INSIDER E-NEWS REPORTS (WHICH ALSO GO TO THE MEDIA) AND AVIDLY USE SOCIAL MEDIA (TWITTER, FACEBOOK, LINKEDIN) TO COMMUNICATE THE RESULTS OF RESEARCH OR IN SUPPORT OF ADVOCACY EFFORTS AND CONDUCTED THREE EFFECTIVE CAMPAIGNS TO HELP DELIVER THE RESULTS OF KEY SURVEYS AND REPORTS (SUCH AS THE "PANDEMIC-ERA STARTUPS" FINDINGS.)

RESEARCH & ANALYSIS: SBE COUNCIL PRODUCES RESEARCH REPORTS, SMALL BUSINESS SURVEYS, ISSUE BRIEFS AND ANALYSIS ON SMALL BUSINESS ISSUES THAT HELP ELECTED OFFICIALS, POLICY LEADERS IN GOVERNMENT, ENTREPRENEURS, THE MEDIA AND GENERAL PUBLIC BETTER UNDERSTAND HOW ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND SMALL BUSINESSES ARE VITAL TO THE ECONOMY AND HOW SMALL FIRMS AND BUSINESS CREATION ARE IMPACTED BY SPECIFIC POLICIES THAT ARE BEING PROPOSED OR ADVANCED. IN ADDITION TO THE REGULAR DAILY CONTENT AUTHORED BY SBE COUNCIL'S ECONOMIC TEAM (107 BRIEFS WERE PRODUCED FOR THE YEAR), VARIOUS SPECIAL REPORTS AND RESEARCH INCLUDED A RANGE OF SURVEYS TO BETTER UNDERSTAND HOW SMALL BUSINESSES WERE NAVIGATING THE POST-COVID ECONOMY AND DEALING WITH CHALLENGING ISSUES LIKE INFLATION. OUR NEW QUARTERLY REPORT, A "SMALL BUSINESS CHECKUP SURVEY" WAS LAUNCHED, WHICH PLAYED A KEY ROLE IN HELPING LAWMAKERS, POLICY LEADERS AND THE MEDIA BETTER UNDERSTAND SMALL BUSINESS PRIORITIES, HOW THEY WERE RESPONDING TO CHALLENGES AND MARKET CONDITIONS, AND WHERE THEY STAND ON KEY ISSUES. GIVEN THE HISTORIC GROWTH IN NEW BUSINESS APPLICATIONS, SBE COUNCIL CONDUCTED A MAJOR SURVEY AND RESEARCH REPORT CALLED "STARTUPS IN THE PANDEMIC ERA" TO UNDERSTAND THEIR MOTIVATIONS IN LAUNCHING THEIR BUSINESSES AND THE WIDE USE AND BENEFITS OF DIGITAL TOOLS IN HELPING THEM LAUNCH, COMPETE AND GROWTH. ANOTHER IMPORTANT RESEARCH SURVEY "WHAT DO SMALL EMPLOYERS WANT IN HEALTH CARE" BECAME THE BASIS FOR KEY BIPARTISAN PROPOSALS ON CAPITOL HILL. ALL OF THESE SURVEYS AND REPORTS WERE DISTRIBUTED TO CONGRESS, WHITE HOUSE POLICY LEADERS AND STAFF, THE MEDIA, AND ALLIED ORGANIZATIONS TO EDUCATE ABOUT POLICY NEEDS AND THE POTENTIAL IMPACT OF PROPOSED SOLUTIONS. WITH REGARD TO OUR DAILY AND WEEKLY ECONOMIC BRIEFS AND POSTS, THESE INFORMATIVE ANALYSES HELP SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS UNDERSTAND THE DATA AND TRENDS IN REGULAR ECONOMIC REPORTS - SUCH AS THE MONTHLY JOBS REPORT, AND MONTHLY TRADE, MANUFACTURING, CONSUMER CREDIT, PRODUCTIVITY AND OTHER DATA THAT IS DERIVED FROM THESE REPORTS. SBE COUNCIL CONTINUED TO ANALYZE AND SHARE IMPORTANT CENSUS BUREAU DATA ON NEW BUSINESS APPLICATIONS ACROSS SECTORS AND WHAT THIS MEANS FOR COMPETITION, POLICY AND MORE.

EDUCATION: SBE COUNCIL CREATES AND DISTRIBUTES EDUCATIONAL CONTENT AND HOSTS EVENTS TO PROVIDE ENTREPRENEURS AND SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS WITH THE TOOLS AND KNOWLEDGE THEY NEED TO LAUNCH AND SUCCEED. SBE COUNCIL WINDED DOWN ITS "SMALL BUSINESS COVID CENTER" AFTER FINAL RULES WERE BEING FINE-TUNED FOR SMALL BUSINESS UTILIZATION AND COMPLIANCE. SBE COUNCIL'S WEEKLY "BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE" TIPS AND TRENDS FOR ENTREPRENEURS WAS PRODUCED 26 TIMES, ALONG WITH 72 SMALL BUSINESS INSIDER BLOG POSTS FEATURING "HOW TO" INFORMATION, ADVICE AND GUIDANCE FOR BUSINESS OWNERS ON TOPICS RANGING FROM MARKET TRENDS, DIGITAL TOOLS AND SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING, TAX RULE CHANGES AND COMPLIANCE, THE POSSIBILITY OF NEW REGULATION AND HOW TO PREPARE, PROTECTING INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY, CYBERSECURITY, THE RISE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, HOW TO COMPETE FOR WORKERS, FINANCING AND MORE. SBE COUNCIL'S PRESIDENT PARTICIPATED IN 21 WEBINARS AND "ZOOM SESSIONS" ON VARIOUS TOPICS AND ISSUES GEARED TOWARD THE TRANSFORMATIVE AND EVER-CHANGING DIGITAL ECONOMY. SBE COUNCIL CONTENT, WEBCASTS, JOINT FORUMS AND SPECIAL BRIEFINGS INCLUDED TOPICS SUCH AS: "THE STATE OF SMALL BUSINESS AND STARTUPS IN THE DIGITAL ECONOMY," "WHAT STATES HAVE DONE BEST AND WORST IN RECOVERING JOBS," "SMALL BIZ AND 5G - THE NEXT CHAPTER," "EX EXCHANGE 2021: TRENDSETTING IN ENTREPRENEURSHIP - HOW DIGITAL MADE THE DIFFERENCE," "HOW BROADBAND ACCESS CAN ACCELERATE SMALL BUSINESS GROWTH," "ATTACKS ON BAYH-DOLE ARE ATTACKS ON SMALL BUSINESSES," "M&A REGULATORY REVAMP: IS AMERICA'S STARTUP ECOSYSTEM AT RIKS?", AND OTHERS THE TEAM JOINED AS SPEAKERS OR PANEL MODERATORS. SBE COUNCIL COLLABORATED WITH PARTNERS ON EDUCATIONAL CAMPAIGNS SUCH AS SMALL BUSINESS SATURDAY (WE ARE A FOUNDING MEMBER), ENTREPRENEUR EXCHANGE (EX) 21, WORLD IP DAY, GLOBAL TRADE MONTH, NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS MONTH, NATIONAL SMALL BUSINESS WEEK, AND GLOBAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP WEEK. SBE COUNCIL SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS ARE IMPORTANT SOURCES FOR SHARING THE RANGE OF EDUCATIONAL CONTENT NOTED ABOVE, WHICH REACHES A SIGNIFICANT AUDIENCE. FACEBOOK, TWITTER AND LINKEDIN ARE USED EXTENSIVELY IN SHARING OUR CONTENT AND FOR ENGAGING WITH BUSINESS OWNERS AND THE PUBLIC. SBE COUNCIL'S "GROWTH WITHOUT BARRIERS" PODCAST (12 RECORDED AND DISTRIBUTED) IS ALSO AN IMPORTANT PIPELINE FOR SHARING OUR EDUCATIONAL CONTENT AND EDUCATING THE PUBLIC ABOUT IMPORTANT POLICY MATTERS BEING DEBATED AND ADVANCED IN GOVERNMENT.