Are Compliance Requirements Driving Entrepreneurs into Hiding?

In his recent The Washington Post article, “Where have all the entrepreneurs gone?,” Robert Samuelson discusses the aging of American businesses, and laments that the number of entrepreneurs in this country is shrinking, fast. A nation of go-getters and hustlers is being replaced by large firms using tried-and-true (and stodgy) business practices.

What is causing this decline? One such reason, Samuelson suggests, is “the cumulative effect of regulation,” which “discriminates against new businesses.”

He writes, “What allegedly deters and hampers startups is not any one regulation but the cost and time of complying with a blizzard of them.”

And he’s absolutely right.

Where, oh where, have all the entrepreneurs gone?

Whether you’re a Fortune 100, or running a business from your garage, your compliance requirements, from initial setup, annual reports, tax filings, state and local licenses, to you name it, are largely the same.

The only problem is, those large businesses have the funds, and entire governance departments to handle compliance requirements. You and your buddy in the garage unfortunately do not.

Maintaining compliance with the state, the IRS, and local authorities is vital to starting and running a successful business, but it is a major distraction for many entrepreneurs.

That distraction leads to discouragement, and can lead to the decision NOT to start up.

And so, to answer Mr. Samuelson’s question:

Entrepreneurs haven’t gone anywhere! Entrepreneurs and small businesses have two irreplaceable advantages: innovation and flexibility. Those traits and that spirit are as old as this country itself.

Compliance requirements don’t have to get in the way. Start your business today, and let us help you stay compliant.