Not long ago, I was talking to a very competent and hard-working
young lady at a nearby municipality in charge of business licensing.
This particular city had been doing various restructuring and budget
cuts. Of course, they aren't alone, it seems the bureaucracy at every
level has to cut costs somewhere, or they won't survive in the future.
We've already had some high profile and large California cities file for
bankruptcy, no one else wants to follow or join that club. Okay so
let's talk about this shall we?
Although the business license Department in this city isn't a huge revenue generator, it does generate money nevertheless. It's important to stay up on it because you need to know which businesses are doing business in your city, and they do need to pay the business license fee, and the records must be kept. Failure to follow up on these businesses that continue doing business but don't renew their license registration or are doing business in the city without ever having been registered is a problem.
Of course, last time I checked the small businesses haven't been doing all that well, there are more costs than ever before for hiring employees, and there are "for lease signs" in just about every business district I've been to in recent years. Businesses need a break, they also need to cut costs, and maybe it's time that the cities worked with these businesses to help them get registered, and to save a little money in the interim. Okay so I have a strategy.
Why not offer the first year free to smaller companies, hell, all they have to do is data entry the information, and give the new business owner a piece of paper, best of all that can be done online, so where is the cost involved? There isn't folks, and that's the reality.
Further, if we are to give large corporations bonuses, tax incentives, and fee reduction if they move into the area, why not help out the little guy too, after all we want jobs right? Sure we do and most small businesses don't last but a few years anyway, why not help them out as they get started, help give them a fighting chance in this hectic economy I say?
It it time to give our small business community a break, and if we are cutting back in these various departments in many cities, why not ease up on enforcement, try a little amnesty, and get the show back on the road. Indeed I hope you will please consider all this and think on it.
Although the business license Department in this city isn't a huge revenue generator, it does generate money nevertheless. It's important to stay up on it because you need to know which businesses are doing business in your city, and they do need to pay the business license fee, and the records must be kept. Failure to follow up on these businesses that continue doing business but don't renew their license registration or are doing business in the city without ever having been registered is a problem.
Of course, last time I checked the small businesses haven't been doing all that well, there are more costs than ever before for hiring employees, and there are "for lease signs" in just about every business district I've been to in recent years. Businesses need a break, they also need to cut costs, and maybe it's time that the cities worked with these businesses to help them get registered, and to save a little money in the interim. Okay so I have a strategy.
Why not offer the first year free to smaller companies, hell, all they have to do is data entry the information, and give the new business owner a piece of paper, best of all that can be done online, so where is the cost involved? There isn't folks, and that's the reality.
Further, if we are to give large corporations bonuses, tax incentives, and fee reduction if they move into the area, why not help out the little guy too, after all we want jobs right? Sure we do and most small businesses don't last but a few years anyway, why not help them out as they get started, help give them a fighting chance in this hectic economy I say?
It it time to give our small business community a break, and if we are cutting back in these various departments in many cities, why not ease up on enforcement, try a little amnesty, and get the show back on the road. Indeed I hope you will please consider all this and think on it.
Lance Winslow has launched a new provocative series of eBooks on Small Business Issues. Lance Winslow is a retired Founder of a Nationwide Franchise Chain, and now runs the Online Think Tank; http://www.worldthinktank.net
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