The National Federation of Independent Businesses (NFIB) is celebrating a milestone this year, marking 70 years of advocating for small business owners.
While the nature of its job has changed somewhat in those 70 years, NFIB continues to advocate for small business owners nationwide.
“Seventy years ago, the National Federation of Independent Business began its mission to protect the right to own, operate and grow a business,” NFIB President and CEO Dan Danner said in a recent statement. “Since then, NFIB has garnered more members — and earned more credibility — than any other small-business group in history.”
NFIB was founded in 1943 by C. Wilson Harder. Harder saw a need for soldiers returning home from World War II to find jobs at small businesses. While they were “over there” many of the small businesses over here were being consumed by the war effort and big business blossomed. At the same time, the federal government began catering more to the needs of big business, so Harder left his job at the U..S. Chamber of Commerce to start NFIB.
There are more than 350,000 NFIB members and nearly 90 percent of them employ fewer than 20 people. Today, the “war machine” isn’t impeding small business owners, but there have been three items that have made it more difficult for small business owners to survive over the last 30 years.
Cynthia Magnuson of NFIB said in an email to Small Business Trends that members of the group have identified health insurance costs, taxes and regulations as the main factors making it more difficult to operate a small business.
“In spite of our nation’s present struggles, we at NFIB continue to work to make America’s entrepreneurs heard in Washington and across the country,” Danner said. “As the engine of the U.S. economy, small-business owners epitomize the American Dream in every way. We are very fortunate to have such a robust membership that continues to inspire and influence the next generation of entrepreneurs.”
