Small businesses are a vital part of the U.S. economy, employing millions of people and contributing to a large portion of the country’s GDP. Locally, small business support has been a key topic for both candidates running for Mayor of Monmouth. Mayor Rod Davies explains:
“We continue to work with all the agencies we can to help support the small businesses. I think having store fronts available is a good way and the City took ownership of the Vaughn’s building to save it and preserve it and we got a lot of money put in the roof and tuck-pointing and plumbing and electrical and shoring up some of the floors to make sure that the building was stable, some real infrastructure improvements on the buildings.”
Challenger Sean Cavanaugh shares his thoughts:
“So, you have a vision of the town and what it could be, and you want to sell that to the business. I also plan on working very close to the Chamber of Commerce to help existing businesses, obviously, that is why they are here, but also to attract new businesses. I think it is very, very important. They have go-getters over there and we have great staff at the Monmouth Area Chamber of Commerce.”
According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the majority of small businesses (82%) operate without employees, and those small employers who hire staff employ nearly half of the American workforce. Leading industries for small businesses include professional and business services, financial activities, and wholesale and retail trade, boasting 3.5 to over 7 million businesses within each sector.
