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Weekly Columns

According to the Small Business Administration, Arkansas is home to more than 247,000 small businesses, which is over 99.3 percent of all businesses in our state.

These enterprises employ over 479,000 Arkansans, making it easy to see how big of an impact they have on our state’s economic climate.

In addition to powering the economy, small businesses also contribute to the communities they operate in.

They embody the American values and ideals that helped build our country—hard work, willingness to take risks and vision for opportunity.

That’s why the Senate recently recognized the importance of entrepreneurs by passing a resolution designating a week in May as “National Small Business Week.” I encourage people across Arkansas and throughout the country to support the small businesses in their communities.

This show of support certainly means a lot to the folks who own these companies and the employees who count on them to earn their livelihoods. It also serves as a way to further cultivate and reward the entrepreneurial spirit that is at the very heart of America.

It’s important that policymakers continue to listen to the concerns and advice of our entrepreneurs and those they employ. We can build on our positive economic growth by pursuing more policies that will help our small businesses succeed. 

We recognize and commend those who take this leap of faith while generating positive economic activity and benefits that help strengthen and sustain the system that has created more wealth for more people than any other in human history. 

This system underpins our society and is marked by the freedom and ability to make our own economic decisions. Those decisions have often led Americans to start businesses and become their own bosses. As a result, America’s small businesses are now, without question, the backbone of our economy. 

During a recent visit in north central Arkansas, I met with several small business owners and their employees. Representatives from the Small Business Administration were on-hand for some of these meetings, underscoring the agency’s willingness and desire to help promote and assist small business owners and entrepreneurs with establishing or expanding their companies.

At each stop, the conversations provided me with invaluable insights about the challenges and opportunities these businesses face. The discussions also inevitably turned to how the economic climate has changed for the better in recent years. 

Our small businesses are even more competitive as the result of pro-growth policies like tax reform and regulatory relief, which have created certainty for entrepreneurs. These pro-growth policies have not only helped drastically uplift and improve America’s economy, but have also given business owners and entrepreneurs the confidence they had been lacking for so many years about whether to invest in or expand their operations.

I applaud the men and women in Arkansas and across the United States who work incredibly hard running their own businesses and chasing the American Dream. I am committed to empowering these entrepreneurs by promoting policies that encourage innovation and expansion.