Guest commentary writing
angela harris
Angela Harris is a small business owner in Sacramento. She founded her Wellness of Life Internal Restoration Clinic and Wellness of Life Products.
After 31 years of research and collaboration with holistic health experts and practitioners, in 2006 I decided to invest in my own holistic health practice in Sacramento. I find it very rewarding to improve lives. I love what I do and am grateful to be a leader in the small business community.
But building a successful small business requires more than life-changing products and services. Today, every business needs an engaging digital presence to survive. And I have worked diligently to establish a functioning digital presence.
I am very concerned about a proposal being considered by an obscure state agency called the California Law Reform Commission. Although the committee's public hearings are often ignored, it is notable and disturbing that 90% of its legislative recommendations have reportedly been enacted.
The potential proposal is part of an overhaul of the state's antitrust laws and is aimed at hurting the biggest tech companies, including Google and Meta. But local small businesses like mine are likely to be hit the hardest.
Here's why: Connectivity, convenience, and consumer information.
To succeed, small businesses need to attract customers, provide useful information quickly, and make their brick-and-mortar stores and websites easy to find. Digital platforms like Amazon, Instagram, and Google offer many tools and services to help small businesses grow, including affordable advertising, customer reviews and ratings, and more. It's often free.
The proposed recommendations could completely change how these tools and services work. It would prohibit “self-prioritization,” which can occur when major digital platforms prioritize their own products or services over other comparable services.
What does that mean to me? Now, when you search for my business online, you'll immediately be taken to our Google Business Profile, where you can click on the map to find our location, read our business reviews, check our business hours, and more. You can visit our website by clicking the button. Or call us and speak to an expert. The Law Reform Commission proposes disaggregating all this information and forcing Google to show other companies' maps, reviews, and a compilation of our business information.
These changes would be disastrous for local businesses like mine that rely on existing low-cost digital services. It also makes it more difficult to build a consistent, positive online presence, which is essential to building and maintaining a trusted brand.
Our online reviews, combined with directions to our Sacramento store, have helped us build our business and keep us afloat during COVID-19. About half of our new customers find us by searching and booking an appointment online. Trust me, many small business owners will share the same story.
My reviewers also go online to see reviews, shop, and get directions instantly from their car or mobile device.
Interestingly, the European Union recently banned self-preference under new regulations, and small and medium-sized enterprises in the European Union are definitely hurting as a result. Since going into effect in March, Google Maps in business profile search results has been static, meaning customers can't click to get directions. Imagine if California decided that self-preference would prevent my reviews from appearing on my business profile, or that Amazon would prohibit his 2-day delivery via Amazon truck.
European policymakers may have been targeting Big Tech companies, but small and medium-sized businesses are feeling the pain of lost customers and revenue.
Running a small business requires consistent determination, dedication, discipline, and digital tools. This work of love ensured the health and vitality of my family and surrounding community as I balanced my faith and family life and weathered the pandemic. Digital tools have helped my business stay afloat and thrive.
The California Law Reform Commission needs to understand that digital tools can help people like me grow our businesses and support our communities and economy. The commission must consider the consequences of proposing policy changes and make sensible recommendations that help, rather than harm, California businesses.
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