America at 250: Reflections from an American Small Business
- Mark Olivito
- 4 days ago
- 3 min read
America at 250. Happy Birthday! What have you witnessed in those 2.5 centuries?
The hope.
The cynicism.
The doubt.
The wonder.
The pain.
The resilience.
I can't imagine summarizing all that is America in one little blog, so I won't try.
Instead, I'll tell you about a tiny sliver of America I get to see every morning.
PAVERART.
PAVERART. A NJ-Based, specialized manufacturing business.
Small Business. It's a phrase that's thrown around casually in America. It carries different meanings, feelings, and associations depending on who you ask.
At PAVERART's core, we are a team of craftsmen.
And every one of those craftsmen has an American story.
There's the kid from Philadelphia. Life bounced him around for a while. He became a dad. Searched for something meaningful. Today, we think he's one of the very best in our industry.
There are the immigrants who came here with the same dream that has brought people to America for generations: build a better life than the one they left behind.
There's one of our founders, our resident Hippie King of Pavers. After all these years, he still shows up because this place means something to him that goes well beyond the paycheck.
Our plant manager has his own story. He kept knocking on our door looking for an opportunity to join our team, and many times the answer was "call back in a couple of months."
Frankly, I probably would have given up. Luckily Brian didn't.
When Mick passed away after a courageous battle with cancer, Brian was faced with an immediate, hard reality: Either we figure out how to keep this business running, or we do not.
Small businesses are a lot like families.
One illness.
One bad customer.
One broken machine.
One missed payroll.
One unexpected loss.
Suddenly, everything changes. They are far more fragile than most people realize.
When COVID hit and the phone rang, I found myself muttering the same phrase over and over. "We're not dead yet."
Admittedly, not the most motivational mantra.
But sometimes brutal reality beats bromides and platitudes. Surviving today is what allows tomorrow to happen. For so many businesses across America, making this week's payroll is a victory. For households, finding away to stay current on the rent/mortgage is the equivelant victory. Getting through the struggle, no matter how hard is what matters.
Lately I've seen videos of what people call "struggle meals." A parent takes whatever is left in the pantry and somehow turns it into dinner because that's what the budget allows.
Some people see hardship.
I see grit.
I see someone refusing to quit.
We've seen all walks of life at PAVERART. We deal with wide and varied proffessions.
Hardscapers. Landscape Architects. Municipal planners.
Homeowners.
School leaders.
But the hardest, and most important part? Our very own team. Inside our 4 walls. The struggles and triumphs WITHIN our team.
Team members. Our differences aren't small. They show up every day. Different family backgrounds. Different politics. Different faiths. Different strengths. Different weaknesses. Different dreams.
Yet every morning we have to figure out how to pull together.
Because in a small business, there are real consequences when people don't.
Families depend on us getting it right.
Maybe that's why I think small businesses matter so much.
They're one of the few places left where people who didn't choose each other still have to figure it out. They don't have the luxury of walking away every time they disagree.
They solve problems.
They disagree.
They adapt.
They build.
And if they don't...
The consequences are real.
America turns 250 this week.
She's still figuring it out.
Still reinventing herself.
Still arguing.
Still building.
Maybe that's exactly what she's always done.
If you really want to understand America, don't just watch the fireworks.
Walk through the doors of one of America's 40 million small businesses.
You'll find grit.
You'll find optimism.
You'll find people trying to build something that didn't exist yesterday.
You'll find ordinary people doing extraordinary things—not because it's easy, but because their families, teammates, customers, and communities are counting on them.
That's the America I get to see every morning.
It's not perfect.
Neither are we.
But every day, millions of Americans unlock the doors to their small businesses, punch the clock, solve problems, build things, serve customers, and take another step forward.
It's hard not to be romantic about that.
Happy 250th Birthday, America.
