What Entrepreneurs Think About Obama

They'll give the President time to fix the economy, but many entrepreneurs question the wisdom of his policy prescriptions

JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images

By Karen E. Klein

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Jim Droney is willing to give President Barack Obama a chance. "He is, I believe, a good person," says the CEO of Mt. Lebanon Office Equipment in Pittsburgh. "But so was Jimmy Carter."

Mark Stevens, a marketing and management consultant at MSCO in Westchester, N.Y., has a similar reaction: "Give him a chance, of course. But I am concerned he won't give us one." His main concern, Stevens says, is that the President does not understand or appreciate the risk-taking, small-government entrepreneurial mindset.

In the midst of a bruising recession and stubborn credit freeze, and with enormous policy changes being announced by the new Administration thick and fast, that combination of hope, fear, and skepticism is common among small business owners settling in with a new, Democratic Administration in Washington, experts say.

In line with a pair of national polls released this week, many entrepreneurs say they like Obama personally but question the wisdom of his policy prescriptions, particularly on health-care reform, the economic stimulus package, and support for labor unions.

Lack of Credit

"Our network of small businesses and women-owned businesses seems to be cautiously optimistic" about the future, says Ann Sullivan, a lobbyist for Women Impacting Public Policy, a bipartisan organization advocating for women and minority business owners. Obama "has an awful lot of goodwill, but the economy has posed a challenge for him and they're hopeful he'll be able to bring the economy back," she says.

"There's some optimism, but the talk has not necessarily matched what's happening," says Margot Dorfman, CEO of the U.S. Women's Chamber of Commerce. "Obama is saying that small business is our ticket to growth, but women can't get access to capital and one-third of all small business owners are women."

The lack of credit, despite the Administration's efforts to reduce fees and increase guarantees on loans backed by the U.S. Small Business Administration, has been particularly discouraging for small business owners, says Kristie Arslan, executive director of legislative offices at the National Association for the Self-Employed, an organization that claims 250,000 members, all of whom have 10 or fewer employees.

"The efforts the Obama Administration have been trying have been important, but I'm not sure how effective they've been. We're still facing the same problems in terms of accessing credit and banks not lending to our members," she says.

Groups that specifically poll small business owners, including Gallup and the National Federation of Independent Business, say they have not surveyed entrepreneurs about their reactions to the new Administration.

Poll of Small Business Owners

An April survey conducted by City Business Journals Network showed that 60% of 301 small business respondents said the Obama Administration "doesn't understand the needs of small business owners" and a majority believed the President would serve just one term. More than 40% said they were less optimistic about the national economy than they were when Obama took office, compared with 26% who said they were more optimistic.

However, that survey was conducted in mid-March, before recent positive economic signs emerged and during the week when the public became outraged over large bonuses given to executives of American International Group (AIG).

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