The economic landscape of Utah shifted dramatically during the pandemic as small business owners faced unprecedented challenges with safety concerns and customer traffic. As a state, small businesses make up nearly 90% of all businesses and include many women and minority entrepreneurs. The Salt Lake Chamber houses the Women’s Business Center of Utah and supports its mission to foster entrepreneurship and business creation. Additionally, the Chamber’s Utah Job Opportunities Fund provided 100 small, rural and/or minority businesses with grants to support operations during the pandemic. This program recognized the need to support these job creators during the unprecedented shock of the pandemic.

The Salt Lake Chamber will prioritize supporting and creating programs that serve small businesses in communities. Development of the entrepreneur ecosystem through the Wasatch Innovation Network will remove obstacles and provide funding for small startup ventures. Utah cities rank high in entrepreneurship and job creation with a culture committed to taking risks to create wealth. The American Dream is alive and well in Utah, but especially through small business creation.

Legislative Priorities 

  1. We support small business expansion and retention policies and incentives that enable small businesses along throughout Utah to hire, grow and prosper.
  2. We advocate for resources that are necessary for small businesses to thrive in an economy recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic.
  3. We support infrastructure policy and legislation that allows small businesses the opportunities to deliver goods in a timely and streamlined manner.
  4. We support a thoughtful approach to the minimum wage based on economic data and market conditions.