Many small businesses in Michigan are heavily affected by free trade and globalization due to the increase in competition. Laurie Schmald Moncrieff, owner of Schmald Tool & Die in Burton, Mich. has already invested in the latest machining and quality-control equipment. However, her sales dropped from $4.5 million in 2005 to $3.5 million last year. Moncrieff is hesitant to expand her business abroad because she doesn’t have the budget for a large marketing campaign; she wants help from the federal government. “We need to focus on the effect free-trade agreements have on small business,” Moncrieff says, hoping for trade restrictions and regulations that would give her business a boost. “They say ours is a service economy,” she adds, “but manufacturing is what grew this country, and I don’t think you can base a viable economy on service alone.”
Moncrieff is right. Manufacturing is what developed this proud country, but manufacturing is no longer what it used to be and she needs to accept that. Instead of crying for help to the government, Moncrieff needs to think of new ways to be more innovative. From the consumer point of view, the beauty of free trade is that it drives companies to compete for lower prices and better products. The governments role in regulating businesses is important, but it shouldn’t be a excuse for entrepreneurs to lack in their creative drive.
