One man, hard work, long hours. And the reason I still only have 1 employee is because of my looming tax and healthcare liabilities.

I built it and if the government would get the hell out of my way I'd reduce the unemployment rolls by at least 2 people.

I do not own my own company. Nor do I ever plan to. It's not in my DNA, and I accept that.

I have, however, had the privilege to work for several small business owners over the past 20 years. As a rule, the owners that I have known are hard-working men and women who work long hours with outdated and used office equipment to save money. They vacuum office floors and wash their own windows to save money. They responsd immediately to their customers--any customer, large or small--because they are all important. They work holidays and weekends.

They don't have a staff of professional chefs to make their meals; they bring sack lunches to save money.

They don't play golf as much as the President does; unless someone gives them a gift card for the green fees.

They fly coach on Southwest; not in a private chartered jet with first-class service.

They don't vacation in Hawaii at taxpayer expense; they stay in a hotel with a pool and check email while their kids splash around.

Don't you dare tell me these hard-working men and women didn't build anything. That's the illogical, unfounded rant of a delusional man.

And if these men and women get rich instead of me - good for them. They put in their time and money and sweat. It's their labor of love. They deserve to profit from it.

I lost my job as a software engineer at an auto parts manufacturer as the GM bankruptcy became imminent.

Rather than going on unemployment, I contacted former associates to offer my services for contract work. I signed up with an online marketplace to make new contacts.

In a matter of weeks I was busy.

The first year and a half, income was very low, but last year I was able to start making progress against the debt acquired during the start.

Though I'm not yet up to the income I had as an employee, the unparalleled flexibility has been extremely helpful for the family.

Our company was bigger and thriving well but Clinton was trying to kill small businesses! We are happy & had to down size but we need more work!!! People are scared. We are in the diesel engine repair & survery business!

I (John) was working in the heating and cooling industry, and while I had a good boss, good wages, and flexible scheduling, I wanted more. I wanted to be with my family, to watch them grow up, be a part of who they become, and to get out of the influences of society. I had always wanted that, but never came up with what I could do for a business.

Then my hours started getting reduced, due to the economy, and I eventually got laid off for 10 months, and off and on for a few months here and there over a 2 year span. It was during a short time back at work that I started thinking about an heirloom seed company we admired, as we like gardening. The business was began by a young guy, sitting on his bed in his parents house, packing seeds. I got to thinking, "Why can't we do that? His business has grown huge, if he could start that as a teenager living at home, we could do that too!" I called home on my break to tell my wife, Sarah, the idea. She of course had all the practical questions like where will the money come from. To this I answered, God can provide the money. He did, and here we are 3 years later, and thousands of hours of work put in.

My wife jumped on board, and became a true partner in this business, putting in many hours of research online, and on the phone, etc. We built our business as a team.

We knew nothing at all about website development. That didn't stop us! We got books from the library, studied for hours, and built our own website from scratch. We have put in hours and hours of studying and learning more about gardening, heirloom/open-pollinated seeds, hybrid seeds, genetically modified organism(GMOs), and why some of these are bad. We have worked to gain the knowledge we would need to help our customers, and we continue to learn and study all the time, so we can be of the best help to those who come to us with questions.

We have worked hard to build a company based on good old-fashioned customer service, the best products we can supply, doing our best to treat customers how we like to be treated by a business, all while striving to honor God in all we do here. We have had absolutely no government assistance, no grants, etc. This business had been built solely, by us, a husband wife team, with the help of all family members able to help when they can, and most of all by the grace of God.

Mr. President, government didn't build our business, WE DID!

SACRIFICE FAMILY SUPPORT

AND

(NO GOVERNMENT ASSISTANCE)

Exclusively built by me with God given talents. With the help of friends and family as my first clients, the last 2 yrs have been my launching pad into the small business world. I have no debt. All my equipment has been paid for in full because I, unlike our gov't, do not spend what I don't have. I save!

I was in the hotel business for years, not because it was the best career choice for me but because I was afraid of failure. Well, I confronted my fear, started my own business with no help from the government whatsoever, and I am building my business on a solid core of traditional ethics, a return to client-focused relationship management, and an unwavering belief in the idea that, if you treat your clients right, and you do things the right way every time, they will not only come back, but will recommend that their friends come to you as well.

In 1987, my husband decided to divorce me and leave. I didn't hold a full time job, didn't have a college degree, and our small community had 60% unemployment. I decided I'd rather work for myself rather than work for McDonalds. I started this small company that taught forensic art to law enforcement agencies.

I then finished my college degree with a double major and honors and remarried another forensic artist.

Now my husband and I travel across the US and Canada teaching forensic art-teaching people who couldn't draw how to sketch the faces of bad guys. Our students have done composite sketches that have helped identify rapists, murders, and the largest serial arsonist in US history.

Yeah, we built this business.
We created the teaching materials, wrote and illustrated five books, and offer 24/7 assistance and advice to our former students.

Yeah, we built this business. It wasn't easy. I battled stage 2 breast cancer, took care of my dying mom, and still taught classes, bald head and all.

Yeah, we built this business. The government didn't help. We paid for private health insurance--which doubled in direct response to obamacare. Thanks to obama, our unemployment insurance doubled, we gave ourselves a 20% pay cut, and we are working twice as hard to hold on.

All the work, sweat, inspiration, skill, talents, drive, abilities, and creativity are gifts from God.

Not the government.

I joined Edward Jones 7 years ago and have built a successful financial investment practice. The government did not help me build it.