06-28-2012, 12:25 PM
I'm a capitalist through and through; nothing better.
I worked non-stop for over 20 years in the corporate world and then opened a business that has profit potential and a growing client base. I do well, but it's almost impossible to make what I need to sustain a living given what's been imposed on me by the government.
San Francisco has a minimum wage that's $1 higher than the rest of the state of California (I pay way over minimum, but MW is my baseline gauge).
San Francisco has had mandatory employer paid health care since 2007. The bill was widely expected to fail when I opened my business in 2006, but it passed. To stay in a business that provides a care service to those who really need (and deserve) it, I have to keep my employees below a certain number to avoid paying that mandatory healthcare expense which would essentially put me out of business because my client bases won't bear the increase in price to cover the increase in cost and it's a low profit margin industry. So, my growth potential is thwarted and thus the number of people that we can assist is also limited.
I do care about my employees and offer a 50⁄50 employer/employee shared cost health plan which saves my over a $1 per hour as compared to the city plan. 2011 was the first year that I had over $350k in payroll which meant I had to pay nearly $5k in payroll tax. My 5 month semi-sabbatical is over starting July 1st and I will be back in Sacramento a lot fighting against proposed industry legislation that would again raise costs to small business owners; thereby reducing the number of elderly and disabled persons that we can assist, inhibiting growth, and causing the number of high quality providers in the industry to further dwindle.
Granted, part of it is because I choose to be in San Francisco which is much more employee-oriented than employer-oriented when it comes to legislation and our specific labor regulations supercede those of the state of California. I may well need to leave in the not too distant future or get back into corporate executive management (I miss the money, but definitely not as personally rewarding for me and I don't miss the corporate politics); not because I don't do well and work hard (and delegate to someone who also works hard), but because too much is being heaped on employers, imo.
I am far from alone. Local and state regulations all addressing the same issues (and sometimes conflicting) sitting on on the plates of many of us small to medium sized employers. Now, I need to analyze the impacts of today's federal USSC Obamacare ruling on the future of my business; its employer mandates crash into the existing county mandates which were never state mandates.
Not whining; I swear. I will work it all out and stay on top - never have had a problem with transition. Just sharing and maybe venting. Having said all of this, I'm glad that I have the opportunity to be an entrepreneur and to move on and make a living in another capacity if need be. Capitalism.
I worked non-stop for over 20 years in the corporate world and then opened a business that has profit potential and a growing client base. I do well, but it's almost impossible to make what I need to sustain a living given what's been imposed on me by the government.
San Francisco has a minimum wage that's $1 higher than the rest of the state of California (I pay way over minimum, but MW is my baseline gauge).
San Francisco has had mandatory employer paid health care since 2007. The bill was widely expected to fail when I opened my business in 2006, but it passed. To stay in a business that provides a care service to those who really need (and deserve) it, I have to keep my employees below a certain number to avoid paying that mandatory healthcare expense which would essentially put me out of business because my client bases won't bear the increase in price to cover the increase in cost and it's a low profit margin industry. So, my growth potential is thwarted and thus the number of people that we can assist is also limited.
I do care about my employees and offer a 50⁄50 employer/employee shared cost health plan which saves my over a $1 per hour as compared to the city plan. 2011 was the first year that I had over $350k in payroll which meant I had to pay nearly $5k in payroll tax. My 5 month semi-sabbatical is over starting July 1st and I will be back in Sacramento a lot fighting against proposed industry legislation that would again raise costs to small business owners; thereby reducing the number of elderly and disabled persons that we can assist, inhibiting growth, and causing the number of high quality providers in the industry to further dwindle.
Granted, part of it is because I choose to be in San Francisco which is much more employee-oriented than employer-oriented when it comes to legislation and our specific labor regulations supercede those of the state of California. I may well need to leave in the not too distant future or get back into corporate executive management (I miss the money, but definitely not as personally rewarding for me and I don't miss the corporate politics); not because I don't do well and work hard (and delegate to someone who also works hard), but because too much is being heaped on employers, imo.
I am far from alone. Local and state regulations all addressing the same issues (and sometimes conflicting) sitting on on the plates of many of us small to medium sized employers. Now, I need to analyze the impacts of today's federal USSC Obamacare ruling on the future of my business; its employer mandates crash into the existing county mandates which were never state mandates.
Not whining; I swear. I will work it all out and stay on top - never have had a problem with transition. Just sharing and maybe venting. Having said all of this, I'm glad that I have the opportunity to be an entrepreneur and to move on and make a living in another capacity if need be. Capitalism.