Should Entrepreneurs Engage with Government?

Bill Marriott Sr. launched his first business operation, an A&W Root beer stand in Washington D.C., in 1929, the same day as the famous Lindberg flight across the Atlantic. The little shop ran into a critical problem in that D.C. law required glassware to be washed then sterilized for 15 minutes in boiling water. At that time, the A&W mugs cost 25 cents each and the process caused high breakage. You could even hear the cracking from the street and passerbys would laugh saying, “There goes another case of mugs”.

In order to solve the problem, Bill had to get the law changed, and to do so become involved with government officials. Not only did he succeed in getting the law changed but ultimately became close friends with high government leaders including Presidents Eisenhower, Nixon and others.

At Edoc, there has been the need for some government interaction. With the help of John Boehner’s office, we were able to get CMC clarification on a Medicare regulation regarding electronic signatures in a specific industry, allowing a client to move forward with a custom program we had developed for them. Also, the Cincinnati Chamber Washington Fly-ins were experiential in meeting face to face with top elected leaders there.

Just this week I learned that the plan for profit distribution cannot be done to my wishes due to recent regulations that label it “discriminatory.” So how and when did this happen and why wasn’t I made aware of it when I signed up for the 401K process? I benefitted greatly from my 401K at Marriott and desire my staff to experience the same, only to find the government no longer allows it!

The hard truth is that Government is not necessarily our friend when it comes to innovation and commerce ideas that don’t fit the narrative. There are also many outdated regulations that can choke new service offerings. We are dealing with one of those now in development of a new offering by Edoc but will keep this close to the breast at the moment. The point is that if this new offering is going to move forward outdated government dogma will have to change.

This month’s Inc. Magazine includes some noteworthy articles on this. Peter Diamandis says:

“Innovation at a large scale means that you’re eroding some of the existing work forces and large businesses that are the tax base. And often, a government’s first reaction to that is to put up regulatory barriers.”

With regard to new business launches Steve Case says, “It will also require building alliances with other companies or institutions, as well as engaging on the policy side with government.”

So what can we do?

One important point I learned on the Washington Fly-in is that business owners own a commanding voice.

Tell a politician or elected official you are a business owner and they perk up! Whether we head up a small business, large business or one in between, we have a significant presence.

So we have a choice when it comes to banging our heads against the regulatory wall. We can take the road of the lobbyist and work with the insiders or go the risk route of Airbnb and Uber by launching in uncharted waters, taking on the fight when it comes.

We have invited Jason Kerschner, Vice President of Government Affairs of the Cincinnati Chamber Alliance to speak to us about interacting with government officials and current pending rules we need to be aware of. Want to join the conversation? Learn more here.