Credit: Getty Images.
As a small-business owner who recently started a farm co-op with my spouse, I know the thrill — as well as the fear — of venturing out on my own to pursue a dream. The goal of our farm, located in southern Dutchess County, is to provide organically grown vegetables, fruit and poultry products for farmshare subscribers, focusing on those with low household incomes. Although it’s exciting to navigate this new territory, we are experiencing many of the same issues that other small businesses do, especially in farming.
Already we have faced challenges in obtaining funding, placing orders for farm equipment, securing a reliable compost supplier and finding insurance policies that don’t hide important information in the fine print. My farming experience, our strong formal education, and a robust network of farmers willing to offer us advice have kept us safe so far.
However, a recent lawsuit brought by the attorney general illustrates how small-business owners are often exploited. The suit targets several predatory lenders that tricked business owners into taking out loans with usurious interest rates. Mom-and-pop operations run by people with limited English proficiency or who lack financial literacy are particularly vulnerable to being abused. They also have little recourse to right those wrongs.
Advertisement
Article continues below this ad
The victims of the lending scam are lucky because the attorney general’s office went after the companies on their behalf. But she used a law that is only available to her, which private individuals cannot enforce in court ourselves. And she doesn’t have the resources to go after every bad actor. The result: Too often, when small businesses are harmed, we have very few protections — and in fact, often the only solution is to call it quits and file for bankruptcy.
Existing law in New York allows businesses that are harmed to sue another company, but only if that company deceived them, and only if the bad actor’s bad conduct is directed at consumers at large. A small business would not prevail if they were harmed in a one-off transaction — even a clearly deceptive one, like a dealer selling an unauthorized grey-market tractor that can’t legally be serviced. And a small business that is treated unfairly — say, by a bank that does nothing after being notified an account is hacked and allows unauthorized transfers to drain the company’s savings — has few remedies under New York’s current weak law.
But a bill pending in the state Legislature would help put us small businesses on even footing. The Consumer and Small Business Protection Act, or CSPA (S.795/A.7138), catches New York up to most other states by banning unfair and abusive business practices. Honest businesses already make a point of acting fairly and not abusing their customers or their competition. In fact, this is already the federal standard. CSPA would provide much-needed protections to small-business owners who are swindled by larger entities that exploit them and the existing lack of protections in New York.
Those opposed to CSPA claim that businesses will flee the state rather than comply, but we aren’t going anywhere — in fact, bad actors will be deterred and small businesses will thrive, knowing we have protections.
Advertisement
Article continues below this ad
New York has an opportunity to bolster the rights of small-business owners and give us real options when those rights are violated. If the Legislature passes CSPA, I can worry less about being taken advantage of and focus more on realizing the dream of growing delicious, nutritious produce to feed my community.
Chris Nickell is a farmer and the co-founder of Finca Seremos.
Commentary: Ban on abusive business practices will shield small businesses
3
0
26.03.2024
Credit: Getty Images.
As a small-business owner who recently started a farm co-op with my spouse, I know the thrill — as well as the fear — of venturing out on my own to pursue a dream. The goal of our farm, located in southern Dutchess County, is to provide organically grown vegetables, fruit and poultry products for farmshare subscribers, focusing on those with low household incomes. Although it’s exciting to navigate this new territory, we are experiencing many of the same issues that other small businesses do, especially in farming.
Already we have faced challenges in obtaining funding, placing orders for farm equipment, securing a reliable compost supplier and finding insurance policies that don’t hide important information in the fine print. My farming experience, our strong formal education, and a robust network of farmers willing to offer us advice have kept us safe so far.
However, a recent lawsuit brought by........
© Times Union
visit website
login
who are we?
contact us
qosheapp
Toi Staff
Gideon Levy
Belen Fernandez
Rami G Khouri
Mort Laitner
Donald Low
Ali Fathollah-Nejad
Nikkei Editorial
Michael Kwet
