04/18/2002
Jay Stanford owns a small business in Missoula and when he drops a letter in the mail, Congress sits up and pays attention.Since Stanford opened Montana Staffing Services with his wife about six years ago, he's kept close track of all policy issues affecting his business, like unemployment policy, taxes and family leave. "When there are benefits approved by Congress, small business pays the bill," Stanford says.
To ensure his senators and representative in Washington know where he stands, Stanford writes them - a lot. "It doesn't really take much effort to write a letter and stick it in the mail. It might make a difference. Members of Congress are concerned over how they are perceived by NFIB. They know NFIB is watching and keeping score."
Research shows Stanford is right -- personal letters and faxes on company letterhead can make a big impact in a congressional office.
"I wrote in support of Pres. Bush's tax cut that passed in Congress last summer and the tax relief that passed the House but stalled in the Senate this fall. I get the most response from our Montana legislators, but if I think it might be helpful I sometimes write to another member of Congress on a particular committee, or to a committee chair."
Stanford, a Montana NFIB Leadership Council member, counts on NFIB to keep him informed and to be a partner in supporting small business issues in Helena and Washington.
"A couple of years ago, a value-added tax was proposed in Montana, based on a percentage of your total sales. It would have been devastating to business. I worked with Riley Johnson, the Montana state director, and wrote approximately 20 letters to state legislators. He was very helpful, and he lobbied against the bill in Helena."
The bill was defeated, another victory for small business and Jay Stanford's pen.
Quick Facts:
Name: Montana Staffing Services
Founded: 1996
Location: Missoula, Mont.
Number of employees: Varies between 50 and 100
How did you get into business and what services do you provide?
I was a commercial banker before, and I worked with a lot of business owners. That's what I enjoyed about it -- working with business owners and managers. In my business, we provide office staffing for companies that need assistance. We can help businesses with staffing situations and with suggestions on workflow. At any time, we are placing between 50 and 100 employees around the city in different offices.
Why did you join NFIB?
I learned about NFIB from my small business clients years ago in banking. It seemed to me they benefited from their affiliation with NFIB, so when we started our business we joined too. We feel that NFIB does a lot of good for all business by promoting issues that are favorable to business and supporting those issues in Congress and Helena.
What are your important legislative concerns on the state and federal levels?
Lots of issues concern small business -- unemployment, family leave act, taxes. Also, I think the war on terrorism has kind of taken center stage right now. We're in the heartland, you might say, but we still have safety concerns and concerns about the impact on the economy that Sept. 11 had and the impact that a future attack on infrastructure would have on all business. When you consider damage done on Sept. 11 to the airline industry and its ripple effect to the entire economy, and you consider the effect of another attack to infrastructure, that could have an adverse effect on the entire economy. I think all business owners should be mindful of that.
