• Senator Wellstone Dies in Plane Crash
• What's in a Pledge?
• Study: Micro-Business E-Commerce Trends Accelerate
• Alert: Register to Vote on NASE’s Web Site

Senator Wellstone Dies in Plane Crash

Last week, the House and Senate left Washington, D.C., giving lawmakers running for re-election a little over two weeks to campaign. Both chambers will return on November 12 to complete unfinished business– including appropriation measures that need to be passed to continue funding the government. The “lame duck” session, which is not expected to last more than a week, means that members of Congress who may not have been re-elected will return to vote on the remaining budget measures, any conference reports that have emerged from negotiations and, possibly, homeland security legislation.

Washington Watch will keep you updated on Congress’ actions when they return in November.
 

What's in a Pledge?

For the past few weeks, Washington Watch has reported that several members of Congress have signed the NASE Pledge to Protect and Promote American Entrepreneurship. Here’s why the Pledge is so important to the micro-business community:

The 14 million self-employed individuals and 4 million micro-businesses (businesses with 10 or less employees) are the backbone of America’s economy. By doing what they do best – creating, innovating, producing, building and growing – entrepreneurs will be the force to get America out of the current economic downturn. According to the Small Business Administration, in 1999 micro-businesses alone employed 12.3 million workers and generated a significant number of new jobs in America. Since World War II, small entrepreneurial firms have been responsible for 95 percent of all radical innovation in the United States. In fact, by the late 1990s one out of every three U.S. households (37 percent, or 35 million households) included someone who had a primary role in a new or emerging business.

And not only are micro-businesses and the self-employed a crucial part of our nation’s economy, they are also a significant part of our nation’s communities. In a recent USA Today/CNN/Gallup poll, Americans chose small-business owners, with a 75 percent trust rating, as the second most trusted group in the America.

Thus, the NASE wants Congress to strengthen their commitment to this vital segment of the small-business population by signing the Pledge. The Pledge asks members of Congress to actively advocate and promote legislation in current and future legislative sessions that will assist the self-employed and micro-business communities as well as oppose and/or amend any legislation that may be detrimental to the continued success of this crucial group.

Urge your representatives to sign the NASE Pledge to Protect and Promote American Entrepreneurship. Click here to send them a letter from the Legislative Action Center home page telling them how important their commitments to the self-employed and micro-businesses are to you.
 

Study: Micro-Business E-Commerce Trends Accelerate

The U.S. Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy recently released a report showing that small businesses continue to embrace Internet technology, with micro-businesses benefiting the most from being online.

The report, titled E-Biz.com: Strategies for Small Business Success by Joanne H. Pratt, documents current trends in small business e-commerce and generates new statistics based on interviews conducted by the executive interviewing group of the Gallup Organization.

“The trend toward integration of the Internet into small business’ daily operations continues,” said Thomas M. Sullivan, Chief Counsel for Advocacy, in a press release announcing the study. “This report shows how pervasive e-commerce has become, and how important it is to small business,” he continued.

Some of the reports new findings include:

• Micro-businesses (with fewer than 10 employees) benefit the most from being online: 35 percent gain 10 to 99 percent of current sales directly or indirectly from their Web sites.

• Sixty-five percent of small, niche firms make a profit or cover the costs of their Web sites.

• Less than 10 percent of small businesses’ online commerce is business-to-business.

“Leading edge entrepreneurs are demonstrating that the Internet offers unparalleled opportunities for small business by developing imaginative ways to conduct e-business,” said Joanne Pratt, author of the study. “As these trends accelerate so too will small business’ role in the virtual economy,” she said.

For more information and the complete report, visit the Office of Advocacy Web site.
 

Alert: Register to Vote on NASE's Web site

Elections are next week, and the NASE encourages you to vote! For the past two years, Republicans have held a slim majority in the House of Representatives and Democrats have held an even smaller majority in the Senate. Close races across the nation mean that control of both chambers is really up for grabs this year. Visit the NASE Legislative Action Center to compare your current representatives’ records to their opponents’ positions on many important micro-business issues. Simply type in your zip code, and you will find a complete listing of your local, state and federal representatives, many with links to their Web sites. And don’t forget to vote November 5.
 

Do any of these issues affect you? Do you want to be proactive in helping the micro-business community? Visit the NASE's Legislative Action Center and “Tell Your Small Business Story.” This will help the NASE understand - on a personal level - how key legislative issues are affecting your business and your bottom line.

For more information about any of the articles in Washington Watch, contact Maureen Petron, NASE public affairs manager, at (202) 466-2100 or mpetron@nase.org.