LANSING – Small business owners didnt have much positive to say about doing business in Michigan in the latest Small Business Barometer, but they have strong opinions on what they dont like taxes and regulations.
In the latest survey from the Small Business Association of Michigan, more than 50 percent of respondents couldn’t think of anything to list as a positive aspect about doing business in Michigan. For those who did list positive aspects, the top vote getter was “location” – but that was only cited by seven percent of the respondents.
But survey respondents were much more decisive in what they didn’t like about doing business in Michigan. A combined 33 percent listed taxes in general and government/regulations as the most negative aspects. Only 20 percent couldn’t think of anything negative.
“Over the 10 year history of the Barometer survey, small business owners have historically been better able to describe negative features of the business environment than positive features,” says SBAM Vice President Communications Michael Rogers. “Partly that’s human nature – it’s easier to complain about something than to praise it.
But it is worrisome that, consistently, so few small business owners are able to note anything positive about doing business in Michigan, he said. That’s a real challenge for state policy makers and business development specialists. How can they sell Michigan as a business destination to out-of-state companies when so many of our own, home-grown entrepreneurs are dissatisfied with our tax and regulatory climate and can find little good to say about our state?”
