Do you know any small businesses, startups or entrepreneurs that have been struggling to raise funds? If so, Adam Stelle, Chief Operating Officer of Startup Weekend, has a small favor to ask to create some positive change.
One of the primary purposes of the JOBS Act passed in April 2012 and signed into law was to help open new funding markets for small businesses (through crowdfunding, removing the ban on advertising fundraising and more). However, key pieces of the JOBS Act have stalled, and Eric Koester, one of Startup’s friends, Board members and advocates, is helping draw attention to the delay and shine a light on why it matters that we keep trying to move this forward.
To help out, Adam encourages readers of Maryland 3.0 to complete the survey as well as to share it with small business owners and entrepreneurs in your local communities. It just takes less than 5 minutes and the results will be used to highlight what *hasn’t* been happening with the JOBS Act, but could happen if these rules would be finally implemented.
Eric is working on a series of articles designed to show how small businesses would be helped — today — by getting these enacted. He wants to provide data on the real-world impact of this hold-up. Again, the hard part was supposed to be passing the JOBS Act, but nine months later the hard part is actually the SEC’s final say on the rules that is taking much longer than expected.
Take the survey here
If you have any questions, feel free to email Eric Koester at [email protected] or read his blog post about why he was inspired to try and push this forward.
Robert Sweetman says
The entire business environment in Maryland is anti-business friendly. Change the regulatory and business taxation system n this state, and you’ll see an explosion of businesses wanting to come and start here. In other articles posted here on the Chestertown Spy, we read the State Comptroller saying Revenues increased in the state due to Taxes and not Business. Another article says there is concern about the bad job growth prospects in this state. Even our own Delegate, Jay Jacobs was quoted :
“Their accounting of convenience manipulates the numbers, trying to make distinctions between general funds, special funds, and federal funds to make the numbers come out in their favor,” Jacobs said. “But at the end of the day, all are funded out of the pockets of Marylanders. The reality is that they have raised taxes 24 times, which has chased jobs and high-income earners out of our state. We need to focus on jobs now and roll back some of the regulations that have crippled small business at a time of very serious economic instability.”
I even have former co-workers and friends who say once they hit retirement age, they are moving out of Maryland as soon as they can.
If real change is to actually occur in the state of Maryland, then the Mindset in Annapolis must change. There is no other way….
Robert Sweetman says
Add to the already unfriendly imploding Maryland Small Business environment the proposed $10 an hour Minimum Wage increase and the possibility of more gasoline taxes for Transportation upkeep and maintenance, you just might as well shut the door in anyone’s face wanting to come here and start a small business..