Have you ever stopped to wonder why I called this column Policy Matters?

It's not really rocket science. I'm sure you're already several steps ahead of me.

For starters, the column (like the entire MicroEnterprise Journal) is about matters of public policy for the most part. As often as not, even our reviews of the economy or the latest small business research have policy implications.

Besides that, there is the much more important notion that public policy does matter.

It matters to you and everything about your microbusiness: how your business needs to operate, what its obligations are in terms of taxes and regulations, how much it costs to run your business, and more.

And it matters because there are far too many of you out there who are inclined to sit back and let policy happen to you, assuming that because you are not Microsoft or GM or Bank of America, you have no influence.

You are wrong, you know.

I don't mean that you can have the same kind and quality of influence as the corporate giants who fill the campaign coffers of politicians, directly or indirectly.

You can have influence because of something it won't take you a second to understand: relationships.

The relationships you develop with your elected representatives and their staff can accomplish a great deal, if you give them sufficient time and attention.

You may not have buckets of money to contribute to a campaign but you have something else that is just as valuable: you have a vote.

And, for every one of you who steps into their offices, those staffers know that there are dozens, hundreds, maybe thousands of others who are too timid to show up. They take that into account.

Policy matters to you and, with just a little effort, you can matter to policy.

Yes, I know. I've said all this before.

Every now and then, I like to remind you. Because policy continues to matter, to you and all you do. That's worth saying, more than once.