Hillary's Plan won't work

I had such high hopes for Hillary's health plan. Too many Americans don't have health insurance. Too many Americans find preventive care to be too expensive. American business is at a competitive disadvantage internationally because we are saddled with high health insurance costs, while businesses in other countries with national health aren't.

But Hillary's plan doesn't help kids fresh out of college with no employment. It doesn't help those working part-time to make ends meet. And it saddles all businesses with more health insurance expenses. Small businesses cannot afford this.

We need a plan that helps the lower income and middle income folks. We need a plan that helps people get preventive care, while protecting them from catastrophic losses when they get really sick. We need a plan that doesn't place an undue burden on small and medium businesses.

How about a plan that removes all payroll taxes for people earning under the poverty level? Everyone could take that savings and put it into a federal health plan or into a retirement fund. To cover the shortfall in social security funding, the government could take the income cap off payroll taxes. The federal plan would cover preventive/wellness care and insure against catastropic loss.

Growth

Friday, I met with a PR expert. He suggested that I focus on helping companies grow, rather than just doing business plans. I've been thinking about that ever since. It makes sense, but it doesn't seem very unique. On the other hand, a business plan is only a tool that enables growth. It's a roadmap, a vehicle for fundraising, and a means of managing growth. The planning process helps managers focus on deciding what they want to achieve and the best way to do it. I realized that I already do help companies grow. That is the benefit I offer. And why not focus on the benefit?

I've decided I like the idea and will begin my own process of seeing how I can achieve what I want. I'm going to explore this new positioning.

Small Business Web Sites

50% of small businesses still don't have Web sites. I find this incredible. With all the ways to create a Web site cheaply, there's no excuse not to have a site. A Web site gives a business a place to establish itself as a brand. It lets you get the word out to the potential customers who might be looking for you and your services or products.

www.1and1.com and Yahoo! both offer really easy and inexpensive means to set up sites.