The advent of the internet introduced a new era of challenges for small business owners. Just as Big Box stores started crushing independent retailers in the 1990s, the internet made it possible for large corporations in every industry to directly compete throughout their verticals — often against their own customers. Smaller manufacturers and suppliers with localized distribution were feeling the same pinch that retailers had been feeling.
But the thing that makes it possible for large corporations to compete in every corner of the market also makes it possible for smaller players to compete. You just need to learn the rules, and how to apply them.
We exist to give small business owners the tools they need to compete. We believe that healthy small businesses lead to healthy communities, by increasing wages, jobs, real estate values, and increasing public services. A nation of strong small businesses would see less income inequality, which would contribute to to less poverty and more social justice.