EXCLUSIVE — A new survey of 10, 000 small business owners from rural parts of the country found that 76 % are concerned about their ability to access cash.
The study from Goldman Sachs found 54 % of respondents want lawmakers to address inflation, 38 % want increased access to capital, and 38 % want support in offering competitive benefits.
The investment banks company is bringing in 60 small business owners from remote areas to the world’s funds to meet with lawmakers on Wednesday and argue for their support in addressing the unique challenges they face. The fly-in is an extension of Goldman Sachs’s 10, 000 Small Business Voices, which provided a$ 100 million investment in rural communities.
” Rural small organizations are machines of economical growth and career development, and that’s why it’s important for legislators in Washington to understand the challenges they face”, David Soloman, chairman and CEO of Goldman Sachs, said in a speech to the Washington Examiner. ” If we can create a beneficial working environment and policy environment, small organizations will grow, and areas across America will advantage”.
According to the study findings, the small businesses said they want politicians to reduce regulatory red tape, maintain and increase income opportunities, and help child care for workers. The survey found 70 % of respondents found attracting employees to live and work in rural areas challenging in comparison to 42 % in suburban areas and 45 % in urban areas.
Jenny Steffensmeier, chairman of Steffensmeier Welding and Manufacturing in Captain Grove, Iowa, said she is advocating to be on a “level playing field” as other big companies in her place. She took over the business 10 years ago after her husband died and has a staff of 13. She also launched a second small business with her daughter, selling decorative exercise weights.
” It’s all about competitive loans — the relationship with my banker has been huge, but it’s, you know, it’s got to be competitive interest rates, if it doesn’t make sense, then I can’t do it”, Steffensmeier said, speaking to the Washington Examiner. ” I think the ask is that even though I’m small, I need to be on the same level playing field”.
Jenny Steffensmeier, President of Steffensmeier Welding and Manufacturing, poses with her family. ( Photo provided by Jenny Steffensmeier )
Steffensmeier and other small business owners will meet with lawmakers as they debate expiring tax provisions, regulatory changes, and other legislative efforts.
The group is advocating for Congress to “maintain successful business tax incentives and expand tax credits” that support the rural workforce, such as the employer-provided child care tax credit. They are urging lawmakers to “prioritize certainty in the 2025 tax debate over temporary extensions or changes”. This comes as the House and Senate have been ramping up debate over whether tax cuts should be permanent.
They also are advocating that the Senate confirm the chief counsel to lead SBA’s Office of Advocacy and represent small business interests. The Senate will hold a confirmation hearing to consider Dr. Casey Mulligan to serve in the role on Wednesday in addition to William Briggs to serve as the deputy administrator of SBA.
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The study also found that 52 % of rural small businesses are using artificial intelligence. That’s 11 percentage points lower than business owners in suburban areas and 9 percentage points lower than urban small businesses. Forty-seven percent of rural small businesses say their communities do not have enough affordable child care programs and find it to be a challenge in attracting workers to live in their communities.
” We want lawmakers to understand that we want to have a relationship with them, so that line of communication, it’s critical that we have it with them, so that they can understand what our struggles and our asks are”, Steffensmeier said.
