Here is a classic example of the types of issues you deal with in the nursery business. According to the HeraldNet, out of Everett, WA., "Bob Wolf is patiently waiting for his nightmare to finish melting." The snow began falling, "It started a week ago, when the snow fell so fast and furious at his business, Monroe Aquatic Nursery, he couldn't keep it from accumulating on the greenhouses." So all night Bob is running around trying to push the snow off the top of the greenhouses, to no avail. Next thing you know he has lost $40,000 in greenhouse that insurance doesn't cover.  I felt for this nursery since we have been in that situation before. Here you are staring at a huge loss of equipment during a time of the year when the only hope of re-cooping your losses comes months away, in spring. When asked if he was considering closing the operation he said, "God no...I would never let that happen".

I don't know what Bob or his nursery's financial situation is like, but I think it's important to focus on the determination to stay in business. Some of the  largest corporations in America, staffed with the most "talented' minds in finance can't survive without holding their hands out to you and me for relief. People like Bob are working their tails off to stay in business. No hand outs, just hard work and determination in the face of what can seem insurmountable odds.

There is no doubt in my mind that small business  is the engine that runs our nation. While all the attention is focused on the big operations, the small business just keep chugging along. It's not easy, and there is no promise of a happy ending. We don't go around looking for handouts. Sure we borrow money at times to stay afloat, but if we can't pay it back that's our problem. It's people like Bob and the other small business owners that are the backbone of our economic system. When I read stories of insurmountable odds, and the "let's get it done" attitude of people like Bob, it gives me confidence. A lot more confidence than the feeling I get when you see huge corporations line up to receive our tax dollars.