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the healthcare costs concern rises to the top because it's so big, so challenging and it's not an easy fix.
"It's a big elephant," said Perlman, "and I think they're trying to break it down in parts to try to be able to address it.
It is a constant factor that we've been engaged in for a number of years."
As director of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville's Small Business Development Center, Theresa Ebeler deals with a
lot of small businesses and their problems. She agrees that healthcare costs are on the top of every small business owner's
mind. She recommends seeking out organizations or alliances to join to try to reduce costs.
"Everybody is concerned about it," said Ebeler. "Something else that a lot of times business owners have to do is team up
and join with other companies to get group health care. If they only have three or four employees, it can be quite costly for
them to provide insurance to that handful of employees, so sometimes they will join with another insurance carrier and with
another small business to get a better rate for insurance. They have agents out there who do just that - where they try to
gather and get a group together - and then the more individuals and employees that they have under their plan, the cheaper
that it becomes, and they will coordinate that."
Ebeler says the tax burden, including fees and regulatory requirements, is a big problem for small businesses, and one that
often takes them by surprise.
"I would venture to say that most small businesses do not know the level of the tax burden until after they get into
business," Ebeler said. "Fortunately, I have not met a business that has closed because of that burden."
On the other hand, Ebeler says she has met businesses that have closed because of the rising cost of materials and energy.
For example, Ebeler says she has worked with clients in the metal manufacturing business. Metals costs have skyrocketed in
recent years.
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"They have increased their costs immensely and some of them have lost their relationships with prime metal manufacturers
because they can't afford the prices," Ebeler said.
She says these types of businesses have tried to compensate by ordering in bulk to lower the cost.
"They are ordering full truckloads, which puts their money and resources into inventory that might possibly be sitting
there and not being utilized. Or they're just having that wait time and having to wait a period of time because of the
pricing," Ebeler said. "That directly affects small businesses dramatically."
Ebeler was surprised that access to capital did not rank higher on the U.S. Chamber's survey list of business concerns.
"Access to capital and financing is typically one of the major concerns of most of the clients who come through our
office," she said.
The U.S. Chamber survey looked at this issue in depth. Its findings indicated that people starting new businesses often use
personal savings, bank loans or credit cards. According to survey findings, women tend to require less money to start a new
business because they often go into service fields with smaller capital requirements.
"If you are a smaller business and you're just off and going, sometimes the use of your family and friends can suffice,
depending on the type of industry that you are in and what you're trying to accomplish," said Perlman. "What we've found is
that the biggest growth in small business is in the service segment. Some of those don't require the heavier capital where you
have to go out and get a business loan. If you're going to be a consultant or in a service industry, those just don't require
that much capital."
Perlman says she sees a trend on the part of government to understand that small business is the engine that grows the
economy and creates new jobs.
"I would say that people who support small businesses have ultimately become more sensitized and more reactive to small
business' growth needs," she said. "I think that is very exciting."
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