I just read a post by my friend and mentor, John Jantsch — founder of Duct Tape Marketing.

He’s a regular contributor on OPEN FORUM from AMERICAN EXPRESS — a valuable small business blog.

John made several suggestions to get the economy going again:

1. fund the SBCD and SCORE chapters in every community possible
2. create legislation that encourages private capital being made available for entrepreneurial ventures
3. eliminate the ‘red tape’ and bureaucratic hassles that smaller employers must navigate to hire new staff
4. fix the healthcare access issue that cause many people to remain in positions that don’t leverage their talents

John’s thinking is pretty good. 

Here’s what I posted in return:

John, you make some good points.

Experience with the recent government intervention in the economy — from all parties — suggests that special interests will always seek to benefit at the expense of the general interest. Being a realist then, means adopting the adage that, “if it’s going to be, it’s up to ME” (Yes, Mr. or Mrs. or Miss Small Business owner — the economic backbone of the whole danged shootin’ match!)

Each person on main street or facebook or whatever . . . needs to go back to the value proposition that got us here in the first place . . . i.e. know WHO wants WHAT and HOW to give it to them.

I can’t recall a single business that failed . . . because it created and distributed value to a marketplace that cared to have it.

Maybe we need to re-mind ourselves of this more often. And, rather than wait for some kind of help from Washington, DC . . . just get on with the doing what we small business people do best . . . create value, market it effectively and profit as a result!