NFIB

Regulatory Expertise Propels Consultant Into Business, Activism
03/01/2004

Bruce Cash was well acquainted with the regulatory challenges that face small-business owners even before he became a business owner himself. When he started his consulting firm, United Strategies, Inc., in 1998, he had more than 20 years of experience advising businesses on government affairs and regulatory compliance.

"It was a natural step," Cash says of his decision to leave corporate America. "At that juncture I had the experience and insight to avoid a lot of the pitfalls that can trap aspiring business owners."

Cash's expertise in the realm of regulatory compliance undoubtedly helped him grow his primary business -- United Strategies currently has six full-time employees (including his wife and daughter), 33 "associate" experts in related fields and 400 clients across the country -- and establish a second business, Avista Development LLC. It also made him a natural small-business advocate.

"Our clients are challenged to be viable because of over-regulation," says Cash, who notes that about 40 percent of his clients are small businesses. "Small business is the engine of the economy, but regulatory requirements -- a lot of which are unnecessary -- are costing us growth in jobs and the economy." Cash's firm has attracted some 73 new companies to the economically hot Inland Empire area of Southern California since 1998.

At the urging of a local congressman, Cash participated in the 1999 White House Conference on Small Business. Shortly thereafter, he joined NFIB.

"We had the same ideas about small business," Cash explains. "I've been actively involved ever since I joined." His involvement includes working with the Leadership Trust in Washington, D.C., and chairing NFIB/California's Leadership Council.

In addition to regulatory reform, repealing the death tax is at the top of his priority list. (He and his son, a former United Strategies employee, attended the press conference celebrating the House's approval of the death tax repeal last June.)

While Cash concedes a lot of work remains, he says the impact small-business owners are having on the legislative process is apparent.

"Everyone is keenly aware of Wall Street. What I want to do is heighten the awareness of 'Small Street,' where small business meets Main Street America, where a majority of us work and create opportunities for economic growth every day."

"Through the voice of NFIB, small businesses are getting elected officials to recognize the merit in listening to them," Cash notes. "Officials are more aware now that the voice of small business is the voice of America. Small business is not a special interest group, it is America -- small business affects every business, every family, every community."

And that's part of what keeps Cash going.

"The long hours and the hard work pay off," he says. "The challenges are seemingly overwhelming, but even in the midst of struggles I really enjoy being a part of the free enterprise system and having the ability to control my own future and to provide a service to the community.

"In creating this business I can see that I've done something to create jobs and to help the community, and that's extremely rewarding."