NFIB

From Capitol Hill to the Halls of Small Business, NFIB Member Proves He's a Star
05/04/2005

From Capitol Hill to the Halls of Small Business, NFIB Member Proves He's a Star

Rob Hartwell (right) takes the opportunity to share a moment with President George W. Bush in Richmond, Va.

Rob Hartwell is a partner in the family-owned real estate investment company Hartick LLC. He also is president of the political consulting firm Hartwell Capitol Consulting, owner of R & R Motor Yacht, part-owner of an alternative power technology company called Ocean Electric, and senior consultant for American Business Development Group, which provides legislative liaison and business development services.

It's safe to say he's an entrepreneur to the core. But it took him a while to figure that out.

Hartwell served 12 years as a Capitol Hill staffer in Washington, D.C., where he was a legislative aide to Rep. Michael G. Oxley (R-Ohio), chief-of-staff for Rep. Dick Schulze (R-Pa.), and a member of the Ways and Means Committee’s staff. He was a Capitol Hill lobbyist for another 10 years.

"I never envisioned I would become a small-business owner-operator," he notes.

Nine years ago, however, he joined his father, brother and their children as a partner in Hartick, which buys, rents and sells waterfront real estate and invests in smaller companies that can contribute to its core business.

"I realized that working on the Hill was a full-time grind where you won't get rich and you can't be a true entrepreneur," he says. "Your ability to create wealth is better if you're active in your own company" -- or, in Hartwell's case, companies. "I spend about 25 percent of my time with Hartick, 25 percent managing the yacht side of the business and 50 percent doing lobbying and political consulting."

Hartwell joined NFIB soon after he got involved with small business. He was familiar with NFIB from his Capitol Hill days when he got to know many of NFIB's lobbyists on the Hill.

"NFIB was one of the most effective lobbying organizations," he says. "I recognized their effectiveness, and I recommended them to a congressman I worked for." At the time, rubbing elbows on Capitol Hill was as close as Hartwell believed he would get with NFIB. "But now I'm impacted by the tax code and the high costs of liability insurance," he continues, explaining his decision to join the organization.

Hartwell's familiarity with NFIB's platform also helped him in setting up his business, leading him to establish Hartick as a limited liability company, for example. "Working with NFIB on Capitol Hill gave me an early education," he says.

Today Hartwell serves on the NFIB/Virginia Leadership Council and regularly attends NFIB meetings in Northern Virginia. He also continues to work actively on federal issues, using his knowledge of Capitol Hill to help spread the perspectives of small-business owners.

And, believe it or not, somewhere in the midst of his business activities and political activism, he finds time to relax. "I've been playing guitar for 30 years, and I'm in a rock-'n'-roll band with several legislators," he says. "We have very few paid gigs, but it's easy and fun."