Bidenomics... Must be "bubble-up" economics. The next step.

In 2020 I wrote an article on Linkedin titled #Bidenomics. This is a follow-up to that article. The President has accomplished so much, but history will likely judge Joe Biden on the successful initiatives that are evident on Main Street, not on Wall Street. A post-pandemic economy, will succeed long-term only if our smallest businesses believe in new opportunities, feel a sense of reduced risk, and confidently know that decades of small business obstacles and neglect are gone.

My life's work has been focused on inspiring entrepreneurs, building creative communities, and fueling the creative economy. What I've learned, is a sad story of mistakes repeated with each administration. The Department of Labor doesn't even track businesses with less than 10 employees. President Biden has given me hope that we've learned from the mistakes of the past.

Today, less than 1/2 of 1% of all #SBA loan dollars end up in the hands of a Main Street business owner. Actually, 99% of those funds go to businesses few of us define as "small". Bank of America openly discourages new small business clients. Most local economic development group initiatives are focused on the needs of big businesses rather than inspiring micro-entrepreneurs and their launches. Our local #SBDC organizations are bloated with overhead and spend little on service or programming. Instead, we need to expand the SBDC program to include more networking, training and even credit opportunities. The loss of community banks caused so many vacancy signs on Main Street... which leads to crime, vandalism, and lower home values. Mr. President, America cannot find hope or opportunity if we can't see it on Main Street!

For decades we've battled systemic racism and economic inequality from a "top-down" approach. It hasn't worked. Our neighborhoods are unsafe and provide little opportunity for those at the bottom, those we need to raise up.

Top-down approaches, from bailouts to SBDC initiatives and from the SBA to economic development organizations in every county throughout our country, have all failed to achieve their missions. Sadly, what few success stories they take credit for are not of their own making. My experience tells me that the solutions are found in every neighborhood. Every small town has a visionary changemaker, and it's almost never a real estate developer, banker, or city official.?

Changemakers are most often creative people. They are the rare individuals who create their own jobs, launch a home-based business, and initiate the change that will eventually lead others to follow.?

In the early 1980s, Ellie Schneiderman lived in a neighborhood of vacant storefronts and pawn shops. She convinced a few local landlords to allow her to lease empty retail spaces to artists to create a local art center. Today that neighborhood is one of the hottest nightspots in America... it's the home of a symphony, five-star restaurants, and art galleries. The once-derelict Lincoln Road became the catalyst for the revitalization of Miami's South Beach.

Changemakers aren't just found in big cities; most are found in our smallest towns.

In the 1980s John Cram visited western North Carolina and found a town that seemed filled with likeminded creative people. The downtown area was depressing.?So John took action, at significant?personal financial risk — he became a pioneer in helping bring downtown back,” says Pat Whalen, president of local development. “He undertook all three of his retail businesses when there were still grave doubts about whether downtown could be saved.” That small town now draws millions of tourists annually to visit hundreds of galleries, cool stores and artists in their studios.?It's Asheville, North Carolina.?

Since 1982, I've documented hundreds of success stories, and mentored, advised, and helped visionaries like Cram create vibrant creative economic engines for their hometowns. In every case, they inspired others with their energy and enthusiasm. They took calculated risks. Can we do it again? Today the number of entrepreneurs is half of what it was in 1980. Unknowingly, over the last three decades, we put up obstacles, pulled credit, and raised risk. The result is a lost generation of entrepreneurs.

The lessons we learned about creating hundreds of arts and tourism destinations can be leveraged to rebuild our economy and create safe neighborhoods everywhere. Everywhere. It's the kitchen table business that creates most new jobs. In the wake of the pandemic, we now understand how important it is for young parents to work from home and direct their own small businesses. I hope we find the courage to put the angel investors and real estate developers on the backbench and allow our most creative neighbors to start the Build Back Better in America process.

There's a role for the federal government to play. Will the Biden-Harris administration find those solutions? The first step is to create a separate Micro-Enterprise Council of Economic Advisors.?I'm hopeful.

Wendy Rosen

Business development for artists and creative communities. #BuildBackBetter, #BidenHarris, @JoeBiden @econJared @HBoushey #WendyRosen #Bidenomics

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