Sally Cole’s “Business News and Notes” column in this edition of the News-Press reads like a list of casualties from a natural disaster. It opens with a list of no less than five businesses that have closed or are leaving Falls Church since Labor Day. Poor sales numbers and high rents are behind this, par for the course for almost any business. But it is exponentially harder for a small business, or a franchise, to handle such a squeeze than for a large retailer or corporation. This week’s sad news should serve to wake up some leaders in the community to the idea that simply because someone runs a business, no matter how big or small, it doesn’t mean he or she is a “fat cat” that can readily absorb any kind of new tax increase, regulation or other constraint. In fact, most small businesses operate on a very narrow profit margin.
