Originally Posted by Spencer Collins

I'm a small business owner and I must admit..this so called poor economy has been great for my house and apartment rentals! I have to beat prospects away with a stick..I kid you not. I'm charging more and making more than ever before. People cannot afford a mortgage but they still want to be in a home.The house rental business is HOT and getting hotter. Three weeks ago,one of my homes became available..I had it rented the first day and there were no less than 7 applicants!

Yup...I feel the pain of ever increasing prices like we all do. Sadly...for some of us..other people's pain becomes our bread and butter but not by design.These folks who have lost their homes need an alternative and home rentals are still preferable to apartment living. No down payment..and I take on all the repairs and the tax benefits couldn't be better...

I'm still short of the dreaded Obama $250,000 limit so I'm not too worried yet and I've found "creative" ways to hide income just like many of the other small biz owners that I know...

Originally Posted by saltwn

So, what do you have to say about lowering capitol
gains tax on small business?

Originally Posted by dabateman

This is the problem with small business owners. It's a fundamental problem where they view their employee as an expense or liability instead of an investment or asset. The small businesses that have succeeded have focused on keeping their greatest asset.

I ignored the issue of higher prices because it's not an issue. You are simply making it an issue without realizing the broader implications. Part of being a business owner is realizing that you can either do the job you set out to do in a responsible manner, or you close shop. That's the decision we made with our business. The few months of struggling allowed us reap the benefits of providing better customer service by keeping better employees so the problem took care of itself.

Consumers ultimately make the decision on where to shop. The only way to ensure the longevity of small business is to encourage customers to shop at small businesses. The only way to encourage customers to shop at a small business is to make them competitive. There are two primary methods of competition. Quality and price. Attempting to make small businesses competitive in terms of price is absurd. You've pointed out the absurdity in your own argument. Therefore the businesses should be competitive in terms of quality. Competition in terms of quality allows the business to make more money and customers will ultimately choose quality over price. Sure, there are always going to be a segment of the market that is budget only, but a focus on quality allows a bigger market share for individuals who are trying to make it in small business.

It's not elitist, it's realist.

Originally Posted by faithful_servant

EMPLOYEES are an asset, but their PAY is an expense. Sorry, if the sub tlies of reality confused you.

I am not confused, but realizing that your employees are an asset is the first step towards creating a responsible business. While on the books pay is considered an expense, in the mind of the business owner it should be considered an investment. Sorry if you were confused.

Higher prices are THE issue. They make businesses LESS competitive, shrink their customer base and reduce their ability to react to market changes. This is high school Economics stuff.

Right... high school economics are only a basic understanding and are far too insufficient to understand the complexities of the current economy.

There it is, the elitist idea that everyone can afford to pay top dollar in order to get the best. Most people cannot afford to pay top dollar for the best, that's why you don't see too many welfare recipients driving brand new AMG C-6.3's. But, when you can stand up in your ivory tower and tell people that they should buy only the best quality because it's a better value, the rest of just roll our eyes, knowing that we are going to buy the best VALUE for our money. That's what drives businesses, not price, not quality, VALUE. If I can buy a $1 can opener that's going to last me 1 year or a $100 can opener that going to last me 50 years, I'm going to buy the $1 version and replace it every year because that's where the VALUE is. Is the $100 can opener a better can opener? Definitely. Is it a better value?? Sorry Charlie, but that's no bargain. From the sound of your perspective, we should all be buying the $100 model, but those of us living in the real world understand that VALUE is the driving force behind our buying decisions, not just price, not just qualtiy, but VALUE. VALUE is where small businesses will get thier butts kicked if they have to raise prices (because their costs just got increased with no benefit to them) without improving the quality of their product or service.

Originally Posted by faithful_servant

There's always ways to make money in any situation. The industry I'm in benefits greatly from when hurricanes hit populated areas (door and window industry). We had our best years when the South (esp. Florida) was getting hammered by hurricanes over and over again in 1998/1999. It had a two-fold effect - it drove up demand and it raised lumber prices (prices in the D&W industry are usually tied to lumber prices at a 1.5:1 ratio, so that with every $1 raise in lumber prices, our selling price goes up $1.50, the same happens on the downside of the equation as well). Part of our problem now is that these storms got people to buy better windows that are better able to handle the storms, so now we see far less benefit. Money's there to be made, it's just a matter of finding out where it is. Right now, one of the best ways to make money is by buying unfinished homes that builders have walked away from and who owe money on. They'll take just about any half-decent cash offer and if you've got the cash to finish the house (labor's very readily available), you can pick up a new home for cheap, sell it under the market and make beau coup bucks.