There are many forms of protectionism. One type protects local businesses against big corporations. Another type protects larger local businesses against local smaller upstarts. The first can be good policy that helps protect local businesses against outside market forces that have the power to dramatically alter the local business scene. The second protects some local businesses against other less wealthy local people trying to enter the marketplace.

I started out as a small “food truck” type construction company. I barely had enough money to buy the next $150 tool that I needed. Fortunately there were no onerous financial and regulatory barriers to trying to start a small construction business. Now I look around and I see young people starting out with small construction enterprises.  I see them under-charging customers because they don’t understand the real costs of doing business yet – just like I did years ago. They get jobs because of these low prices, end up losing money on many of them, and they either figure it out or they go do something else. These little operations are sometimes a minor annoyance because of their effect on the market, but how can I advocate policies that prevent some young person from giving it a shot just like I did years ago? That would be pretty elitist of me. Some of these little enterprises might grow up to be established, respected building companies that employ people and provide quality construction services. I can’t justify slamming the door behind me on the next generation of builders and remodelers just because I don’t want the competition.

There’s been a lot of talk lately about how we are adopting a more business-friendly attitude and intend to make it easier to do business. There’s also the ever-present voicing of concerns that we shouldn’t let Chapel Hill turn into a town of elites that doesn’t provide housing and job opportunities for the less fortunate among us. The relatively high fees imposed on food truck businesses run counter to these sentiments.  

Related Stories
‹
Simple Problems: Simple Solutions
The facilitator for the April meeting of the Chamber of Commerce Small Business Roundtable was Tori Williams Reid, Ph.D., co-owner of Right at Home – Durham/Chapel Hill, an in-home care and assistance company. During a session entitled Simple Problems: Simple Solutions, Tori invited participants to share current business problems and then for each one, she […]
Good Green Business At Open Eye Cafe
Who needs paper when you can just write someone’s order on the counter? Good green business by Open Eye Cafe; in Carrboro. Important keys to success: Dry erase markers Metal, glass or other surface from which dry erase markers will easily erase. Got any other examples of good green business? Tell me in the Comments […]
Fiscal Cliff
I was very fortunate to receive an invitation to visit the White House last Thursday. I was among a delegation of 40 community leaders from across the state of North Carolina who were asked to join in a conversation with the White House Office of Community Engagement about the impending fiscal cliff. Now the fiscal […]
We Need a Better Plan for Transit. Vote "No"
There’s a 1/2 cent sales tax referendum on November’s ballot. It will be used to fund a 25-year, $660 million plan for light rail and other transit in Orange County. Separately, the commissioners and Triangle Transit Authority (TTA) will add $10 to the annual vehicle registration fees. If the tax passes and the fees are […]
On Vandals & Customer Service
I posted Welcome to Notre Dame so it seems now would be a good time for a reminder.  Except instead of welcoming Phoenix Fans from Elon, now it would be more appropriate to welcome the Vandals from Idaho. So here ya go, a sign for your window: And in […]
Winging It or Planning?
My Fast Entrepreneur instructor and SCORE mentor, John Wyman, suggested this topic the other day for the blog,”……why do so many small businesses fail?” He gave us a list to read before our class next week. If I ran this list by a friend whose small business failed to thrive, he’d tell you that he […]
BOCC Imposes New Zoning Over Community Opposition
In the biggest reflection of how business will be done in this new era of dedication to economic development as the County’s number one priority, the Count Commissioners voted 5-2 to rezone the Eno Economic Development District (EDD) for commercial use. This EDD was created about twenty years ago and has existed only in the […]
Reform Building and Zoning Codes for Affordability
Building & zoning codes drive up the cost of construction. The state building code originates in the N.C. Department of Insurance, so you know they are quite content to spend your money to minimize future claims. The building codes are rife with overbuilt requirements, and building-code officials (in an understandable desire to make sure they […]
And the survey says....
You know those surveys you fill out and then forget about? Do you ever wonder, but never know what other people said? Do you ever wonder if the input made a difference anywhere? Do you ever wonder if your responses were even read? Today I want to remind you about the survey posted right here […]
Drafting the Chapel Hill 2020 Plan
The Chapel Hill 2020 effort has been a wide-open, very participatory process to create a new comprehensive plan for our community’s future, for 2020 and beyond. We now have a clearer take on what the Chapel Hill 2020 process will accomplish, and what the overall structure of the plan will be. Our intention is to […]
›