The weekend on the day of the anniversary has always been a milestone for me. Once again when I was a child, the family I spent in Jersey was the beach of every summer, and the memorial days were the official start to the summer-and it is always full of expectation and fun. But since the age of 15, this teacher has taken more meaningful as she officially started working in the hospitality and tourism industry.
Armed with this summer job, I had a direct vision of what it took to manage business. From the beginning, I liked hospitality – raising the welcome of the people who chose to spend their vacation with us. I also watched worry about business administration – fire inspections, code inspections, and billiards searches. Economic courses and fears of the ability to bear costs. There were concerns about cash flow, marketing, purchase and maintenance.
But while business management responsibilities may be arduous, they were also exciting. Thus, after the college, I went back to the beach and started my official career in hospitality and tourism. As an employee throughout the year, I was directed by managers and owners. You are now inside. Every year, I discovered the accumulation of the tourism season-that portable rush, as everyone prepared their work on their summer back.
Virginia was opened in Cape May in 1989, then took the task of restoring and reopening the recent Hal Hal. My business has grown from only 40 employees to many stores, restaurants and hotels. Today, our team is 1300 strong workers. While I think on a 36th day as a small business owner, I feel proud and accomplished, but I am also worried about the ability of today's youth to find the same opportunities that I enjoyed as a businessman.
Simply put, regulations and red tape strangle small companies. The cost of goods and products rises with inflation. There are more licensed to apply for each year. Whether it's opening a new hotel or just lemon juice position, Dreaming Big never felt tougher.
There are fewer operators of owners, and replaced by major companies. With all the obstacles faced by small companies now, there are less incentives to pick up these incentives. Even generations companies lose their future generations – parents do not want their children to pressure them. Or children who want an easier life.
New Jersey is a particularly difficult place to do business. By organizing and excessive taxes and one of the most expensive countries in the country, many entrepreneurs are looking for better opportunities in better places. Small companies on the front line of the economy. They rent adolescents and employees for the first time. However, they have no defenders, nor resources, to pressure against unimaginable legislation, which suits everyone.
Only this spring, the New Jersey Public Utilities Council agreed to increase 20 % on the electrical prices of both homeowners and companies. In the state legislative council, a draft law was proposed and considered it to eliminate the minimum working wages – which would force restaurants and bars to increase 200 % in their wages. In addition, the state budget for this year suggests raising alcohol taxes and a number of recreational activities, from bowling to the laser mark to the mini golf.
It is not surprising that the 2025 regional business climate analysis in NJBIA, that New Jersey died in the region in the cost of cost and labor taxes for the seventh year in a row. A similar study by Wallet Hub The Garden State occupies the third country that works in the field of business in 2025.
Last year, she led 80,000 miles via New Jersey as a candidate for the Senate in the United States. I spoke to voters from each party and demographic, and there was one common topic – they were all concerned that their children and grandchildren would not be able to find opportunities in New Jersey. They were concerned that the next generation was unable to raise a family in the status garden they called home.
Fortunately, Jersey Beach still consists of most small companies. It is in the DNA of our culture, and the backbone of our societies. It has not been too late to revitalize our great condition in the garden. We need to trust our employers-the vast majority of small business owners who are good and work hard. We need to cancel them from the exhausting regulations. We must make our country more affordable – from energy, to housing, to taxes. To do this, we need to leave behind one party from the party and engage in a serious and constructive dialogue about our future.
So, while you enjoy a very special weekend, think about your favorite traditions along the coast all over the New York region. I thank these owners and hospitality workers there are for you, and they are eager to serve you. And your role to help return New Jersey from the brink of the abyss by voting for the logical operational candidates in the upcoming preliminary elections. Perhaps I had not won the Senate seat, but the elections were not more important.
Curtis Bashaw is the owner of Cape Resorts.
