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Area entrepreneurs take lead role for small business owners

Franklin, Fairfield business owners on leadership council.

David Bellos, CEO of Teron Lighting, was recently re-elected to the state leadership council of The National Federation of Independent Business/Ohio. Photo by Robert Leifheit/Contributing Photographer

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Scott Lipps pictured Thursday, Feb. 2, 2012 inside his Franklin, Ohio business, Sleep Tite Mattress Factory, was recently recently re-elected to the state leadership council of The National Federation of Independent Business/Ohio. Lipps is also the current Franklin mayor.

Gary Stelzer/Staff photo by Gary Stelzer Scott Lipps pictured Thursday, Feb. 2, 2012 inside his Franklin, Ohio business, Sleep Tite Mattress Factory, was recently recently re-elected to the state leadership council of The National Federation of Independent Business/Ohio. Lipps is also the current Franklin mayor.

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By Eric Schwartzberg, Staff Writer Updated 2:06 PM Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Scott Lipps and David Bellos are not only small business owners, but advocates for small business on a local and statewide level, as well.

Lipps, owner of Sleep Tite Mattress Factory in Franklin, and Bellos, CEO of Teron Lighting in Fairfield, were re-elected this month as members of the state leadership council for the National Federation of Independent Business/Ohio, the state’s leading small business association.

Lipps, now in his eighth two-year term, has been an NFIB member for 23 years. He said the NFIB has proven to be a valuable, reliable and important resource regarding small-business developments in Ohio.

Being a part of the NFIB gives him a way to stress to lawmakers the importance of small business development dollars.

“I believe it’s about access and about having your voice heard,” Lipps said. “We survey small businesses across the state of Ohio and ask them what their concerns are, and then we try to author legislation that addresses that concern, that helps ease their pain.”

Every time a mandate comes down for a new regulation, the NFIB is there to help small business comply without having to hire someone to do so, he said.

Being a part of the NFIB also allows him to lobby for businesses to come to Butler and Warren counties.

“Why should it always go to Columbus or Cincinnati?” Lipps said. “I think we deserve a say out here. The only way to gain that say is to become well enough known that you have a voice.”

Lipps said he is proud to help on legal reforms that thwart lawsuit abuse and worker’s compensation reforms.

The NFIB also helps small businesses with more affordable health insurance options, lower taxes and fewer burdensome regulations.

Ohio is home to nearly 902,00 small businesses, which add more than $28 billion annually to the state’s economy, according to the NFIB.

Sixty-nine percent of Ohio businesses enrolled in the NFIB have between one and 9 employees and 30 percent have between 10 and 100 employees.

Only one percent of all businesses enrolled have more than 100 employees.

The NFIB, which represents businesses with 500 employees or fewer, now represents 634 businesses in Butler County and 257 businesses in Warren County, according to NFIB spokeswoman Mandy Minick.

Bellos, now in his third term, said Teron Lighting has been an NFIB member for 25 years. He said the group includes a diverse membership from all facets of business, providing “boots on the ground” to advocate for business-related legislation.

He sits on a committee that interviews candidate for public office before every election.

“We really grill these people,” he said. “When you’re endorsed by 25,000 businesses, people watch that kind of stuff. Be they Democrat or Republican, we look for who is going to be good for the overall business climate, of course, but also the state of Ohio.”

Many people do not understand what the NFIB can do for their business, Bellos said.

“Any business owner who understands it, it’s so ridiculously inexpensive,” he said. “For $125 to $200 depending (on the amount of employees), you have access to a resource that would cost so much.”

That includes group rating programs that can be used for discounted business services that may be used to recoup far more than initial cost of membership, he said.

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