Issue Position: Small Business

Issue Position

Rhode Island is, famously, the smallest state in the country. It is also a state where small business is the backbone of our economy.

We need an economic development plan that recognizes this fact. We need an economic development strategy that invests in supporting the creation, growth, and success of small business. Because it is a plan that invests in our inherent strengths and the real engine of job creation.

As a person who has recently launched a small business, I know how complicated this task can be. How many promising ideas have been lost in the earliest stages because of this? We need every good idea to have the opportunity to launch and thrive.

We need to make it easier to start and build and sustain a business in Rhode Island.

That will require making sure that local and state regulations are aligned and simplified. It means we need to make sure government is an avenue to success, not a barrier to innovation. We can do this by assigning a role in key state and local agencies to actively assist business owners to navigate the process.

The goal should not simply be to make sure a business dots every i and crosses every t. The goal should be that every good idea succeeds.

More than half of all working Rhode Islanders, are employed by small businesses. It is time that we invest in small business, the engine of job creation in our state.

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