Eleven years ago, my mom started a boutique rental company offering one-of-a-kind vintage decor and table settings for weddings and events. Today, I handle the business\u2019s day-to-day operations. Running a small business in California isn\u2019t for the faint of heart \u2014 especially in today\u2019s economy \u2014 but we love creating unforgettable events for our clients.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, lawmakers may soon pass sweeping legislation, Assembly Bill 1776, that could make it even tougher for us to operate here in California. AB 1776 would make offering integrated tools, like HubSpot or Microsoft 365, an \u201canticompetitive practice.\u201d The bill is aimed at large companies, but it\u2019s likely to break apart many of the affordable, efficient digital tools that help small businesses like mine compete and succeed. By some estimates, AB 1776\u2019s passage could cost California small businesses an average of $16,000 in lost sales every year \u2014 jeopardizing some $356 billion<\/a> in sales over the next five years.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s an example of how that would happen. Right now, when someone searches<\/a> online for our business, our Google Business Profile pops up showing helpful information, including a map to our location, customer reviews, and a link to our website. That\u2019s convenient for customers, and a great marketing tool for us \u2014 and it\u2019s free.\u00a0<\/p>\n But if AB 1776 passed, the state of California could sue Google, arguing that Business Profiles unfairly favors Google\u2019s products over competitors.\u2019 That could force Google to break apart Profiles, resulting in a disjointed search experience that confuses customers, reduces our visibility, and hurts our sales. On top of that, rival service providers like Yelp often charge for features that Google offers for free, like adding a \u201cbook an appointment\u201d or \u201cmake a reservation\u201d button. In short, AB 1776 means small California businesses are likely to end up paying more for less effective tools.\u00a0<\/p>\n That would make it harder for California\u2019s small businesses to compete with rivals based in other states. That\u2019s because thousands of us use integrated digital tools like Google\u2019s AI-powered Performance Max ads to try to win customers across the country. If those tools were broken up, we\u2019d have to patch together services that would likely be less efficient and more expensive than the integrated tools we currently have. But our competitors in other states would still have those tools, so we\u2019d find ourselves at a huge disadvantage.\u00a0<\/p>\n In fact, another worry is that AB 1776 would discourage tech companies from offering new integrated AI-powered tools to California businesses. In the short term, that would threaten our access to super-efficient AI tools that help us manage inventory and create marketing materials. In the longer term \u2014 as businesses in other states moved forward with integrated AI tools \u2014 California businesses would fall behind.\u00a0<\/p>\n I don\u2019t understand why lawmakers would want to make it legally risky for companies to offer new efficiencies, savings, and technologies that help small businesses succeed. That\u2019s terrible for small businesses, and would probably exacerbate the state\u2019s business exodus<\/a> and damage<\/a> its economy.<\/p>\n Given that California small businesses already face so many serious challenges<\/a> \u2014 including sky-high gas prices<\/a>, rising labor costs, and a tangle of red tape<\/a> \u2014 it\u2019s baffling that lawmakers would try to pass legislation that\u2019s likely to raise costs, reduce efficiency, and make it harder for small businesses to thrive.\u00a0<\/p>\n California small businesses need smart laws that help us make the most of today\u2019s integrated digital tools and allow us to grow and compete \u2014 not radical policies that jeopardize our future.<\/p>\n