As the voting numbers came in on election night last fall, many could feel a surge of economic promise for the future. It also seemed to wash away the lackluster economic haze of the last eight years. The past administration came in at about the same time as the 2008 bubble burst, and started a run of increased regulation and tax burden that virtually impaled small business growth.
Last August, Fox News ran an opinion piece that really put this stunted growth into perspective. “The Obama administration is responsible for six of the top seven all-time highest total number of pages of rules and regulations published in a given year in the Federal Register. Obama has added an average of 78,785 pages annually, up more than 2,000 a year from the 76,783 pages issued annually by his predecessor.”
“This is the first time in a long time that this industry has really seen anything to be optimistic about.”
John Overstreet, Executive Director – Indoor Tanning Association
In addition, so-called healthcare reform has caused costs to skyrocket and placed a huge restraint on small business. Companies with 50 or fewer employees are required to provide health benefits or face the possible fine of up to $2,000 per full time employee. With money tighter (and more expensive) to borrow, combined with the implications of the Tan Tax and more stringent state regulations, the wheels of indoor tanning seemingly came to a screeching halt as the first decade of the new millennium came to a close. Money sat on the “sidelines” and almost an entire industry was shut down from re-investing and trying to grow their businesses. In a 2011 address to the Chamber of Commerce, President Obama claimed that there was about “$2 trillion sitting on the books” of U.S. companies, and that it was time to re-invest and hire. Well, with the roadblocks that were in place, that wasn’t going to happen.
With a new president and administration entering D.C., many feel that what was probably a fait accompli with more restrictions from the Feds, may not be.
“This is the first time in a long time that this industry has really seen anything to be optimistic about,” said John Overstreet, Executive Director of the Indoor Tanning Association during a recent interview with the media. Recent years saw the FDA enacting and proposing new restrictive measures on the industry. However, Overstreet doubted that the Food and Drug Administration would implement the new regulations during the presidential transition and will instead wait on guidance from the Trump Administration.
Folks much smarter than me get paid a lot of money to make economic prognostications. Nonetheless, witness the Dow Jones Industrial average since the election. As of this writing, it was touching just over the 20,000 mark. I’ve talked with many folks around the country, both inside and outside of our industry, about their economic mood. Clearly, many are optimistic; but where does that leave us? The future of the Tan Tax is still unknown and the status of the FDA’s possible regulatory changes to 21CFR1040.20 have not been finalized. However, there’s a pretty good chance that with a conservative executive branch and majorities in the U.S. House and Senate, there could be a reduction in the heavy handed governmental regulations that have affected us for quite a while.
In January, I had a chance to catch up with Ed Jerger, who “guides the ship” as CEO at Four Seasons Sales & Service, headquartered in Paris, TN. Ed was in Winston-Salem, NC to direct the FST Southeastern Tanning Expo, co-hosted by Forever Tan; an annual event that kick-starts the indoor tanning season. FST has long been a sponsor of IST Magazine’s Sun is Life® Training & Certification program, and I was again invited to be the instructor of the class offered to salon operators at the Expo. Passing an approved indoor tanning training program has been a requirement for North Carolina salons for quite some time, and Sun is Life is approved for both classroom and online training. Ed and I chatted about his thoughts on the economy.
“Joe, I’m going to start off with a big, ‘Thank you, Mr. President!’ for putting confidence back into the minds of small business owners. During our expo, it became really obvious that salon owners have started to invest into equipment again, and talk of growing and expanding their businesses could be heard everywhere. Everyone attending our event in Winston-Salem could feel the healthy vibes and the excitement – and since healthy vibes and excitement are highly contagious, all attendees left Winston-Salem feeling great about the economic outlook. I have to tell you, I get excited thinking about what the next four years will have in store for our businesses.
After having watched the new administration during their first weeks in office, I am convinced that we now have a government that is better with its actions than with its words – and in business, results are what matter. Economic growth will be transformed from being a lame word used by politicians, to becoming a reality that we can see and measure. After years of watching from the sidelines, business owners are ready to roll up their sleeves and get something done. What is most encouraging is the fact that every day, my own excitement is rekindled during talks with other businesspeople. Words and statements like growth, confidence, protecting American businesses, keeping jobs in the country, etc. are being used and, all of a sudden, business conversations are inspiring and refreshing again. The year 2017 and beyond will be great for American businesses!” I definitely echo Ed’s sentiments.
In closing, I’ll share a quote taken from the work of German-American architect, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, and apply it to the future of regulations and taxes that have weighed down our industry. His style was associated with the saying “less is more.” Clearly, when it comes to burdensome regulations on their businesses, people in our industry would agree with that.
