Do you know what is it like being a small business owner? Well, to say the least, it’s a roller coaster ride – just like any other entrepreneurial endeavors.
There are busy times, and there are also the dreaded slow times. There is a budget to maintain because it’s so limited, that there’s no room to wiggle. There are employees to support and keep happy. There are regulations that don’t favor small businesses – perhaps because they are, well, small and seems insignificant.
All are parts of a small business journey; a typical part, really.
But unlike what many people think, small businesses are what make a nation’s economy. In the US, there are 28 million small businesses; let’s just say that America is run by small businesses.
Small businesses provide employment; they keep the economic wheel turning; without them, the local region will be a dead region.
I don’t know how about you, but I think small business owners deserve the recognition. They often take no holiday; they often work long hour – longer than their employees; they have to take care every expense – no sick-leave, nothing.
Yet, they are happy running their business; they wouldn’t trade their ‘job’ with any other jobs.
In celebrating the hard working small business owners across America, two filmmakers, Trisha Dalton and John Sears, set out on an epic journey across the country, for over 10,000 miles, capturing the stories of 200 small business owners.
The journey is commissioned by Capital One Spark Business. The 73-day journey covers the distance of 10,155 miles, featuring 186 small businesses, and spending nearly $50,000. All in all, the journey is a major success.
Here’s an interesting recap from Week 11 – the final week – of the journey:
Pretty inspiring. Plenty of small business stories sharing you the passion of the owners – their background and what they are doing to make things work.
An interesting story comes from J.R., the owner Selecta Auto Body in San Diego, who goes green with his auto body shop. The shop is probably the greenest auto body businesses in the U.S.
Also in San Diego, another story comes from Pipette.com, a bio-tech business producing equipments for laboratories. Alex, the owner, is an immigrant from Ukraine. He shares the story that everybody can be successful wherever they are from, as long as you are doing the right things.
Want more stories? please visit http://www.iamsmallbusinessproud.com/ or visit Twitter and search with this hashtag: #SmallBizProud
How about you? What’s your favorite small business story?
