About
Small Biz. Big Voice.
Main Street Alliance is a network of 30,000 small business owners in every corner of the country, working together to take back control of our Main Streets. We know what’s really happening in our communities because we live it every day. Together, we’re driving the economic conversation too often dominated by massive corporations, winning policies that let small businesses thrive, and plugging entrepreneurs back into civic life that’s excluded us.
And we’re just getting started. Main Street Action takes the next step—organizing local leaders to defend our values in the halls of power.
Main Street Vision
Our vision is simple: a fair economy where folks who roll up their sleeves and do the work can make a decent living, care for their families, and build something lasting for the next generation.
We believe America works best when Main Street is strong. That means:
Small business owners—especially Black, Brown, and women entrepreneurs who have too often been excluded—having a real say in the rules that shape our lives.
Local businesses setting the tone for our towns, not giant corporations in far-off boardrooms.
A country where running a business doesn’t mean choosing between caring for your family or keeping the lights on.
And when we say “small business owner,” we mean everyone hustling to make a living, from sole proprietors and family shops to digital pioneers carving new paths. Expanding who counts shows the real face of Main Street today and makes sure no one is left out of shaping our future
Values
Small business owners know success isn’t just about hard work — it’s about the conditions around us. Rising costs, unfair rules, and broken systems put Main Street at a disadvantage. That’s why we organize around three simple values
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The supports families need so workers can show up, customers can shop, and Main Streets can thrive.
Healthcare – Premiums eat into profits and make it harder to hire and keep staff.
Childcare – Parents can’t work or shop if they can’t find or afford care.
Paid Leave – Workers shouldn’t have to choose between a paycheck and their family.
Housing – When housing is out of reach, employees and customers get pushed away.
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Leveling the playing field so small businesses can compete with giants.
Tax Fairness – Big corporations dodge taxes while small businesses foot the bill.
Capital Access – Without fair loans, local entrepreneurs can’t open or grow.
Antitrust & Corporate Concentration – When a few giants dominate markets, small shops get squeezed out.
Tariffs & Trade Policy – Sudden costs on goods hit small importers and retailers first.
Insurance – Rising costs for health, property, and liability coverage are crushing small firms.
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Removing barriers so every entrepreneur and community has the chance to thrive.
Infrastructure & Utilities – Every community deserves the basics: reliable roads, broadband, and energy.
Zoning – Fair rules mean small businesses have the freedom to open and grow without being boxed out.
Criminal Justice – Over-policing and mass incarceration destabilize communities and weaken the customer base.
Immigration – Immigrant workers and entrepreneurs are vital to Main Street’s future.
Workforce Development – Training pipelines give everyone the chance to access good jobs.
Who’s Fighting For You?
Main Street Alliance was born from a simple idea in 2008:
Small business owners ought to have as much say in shaping our future as the big corporations that throw their weight around in DC.
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Our first campaign made sure Main Street voices helped shape the Affordable Care Act, proving that when small business owners show up, we change the national conversation.
When the Great Recession—and later the COVID-19 crisis—hit, our members stuck together and fought for billions in relief to keep small businesses alive. That included everything from paycheck protection to grants that saved local venues, diverse chambers, and community mainstays.
Our power has grown in the states too. In Wisconsin, our members won one of the largest small business support packages in the country—$1.6 billion to help entrepreneurs stay afloat. In Minnesota, we helped pass paid family and medical leave so folks no longer have to choose between a paycheck and caring for their loved ones. And from Maine to Washington, entrepreneurs have turned crises into collective action, making sure Main Street sets the tone for economic recovery and policy change.
What started as a handful of shopkeepers, café owners, contractors, and community entrepreneurs has grown into a 30,000-strong network. Together, we’re proving that when Main Street shows up, we win.
Theory of Change
Small business owners have always been told: if you work hard, you’ll succeed. But they’re navigating an economy shaped by forces far bigger than any one shop…rising costs, corporate concentration, and political dysfunction that leaves communities exposed.
When the conditions around them shift, small business owners feel the storm first. Our work helps them change the weather.
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1. Put On a Jacket
Clarify the climate we’re all living in with media strategy, rapid response and legal action
We help small business owners step into public life as trusted narrators of what’s truly happening on Main Street. Their stories cut through noise, correct misinformation, and shift the understanding of what’s possible.
Impact:
50 million earned and digital media hits in 2025
Earned media across CNN, MSNBC, The New York Times, and dozens of local outlets
MSA members serving as plaintiffs in 6 legal actions checking executive overreach
Putting on a jacket means helping communities name the pressures they’re facing…instead of getting swept up in someone else’s narrative.
2. Build a Shelter
Create trusted civic spaces where people can learn, participate, and belong
We build civic infrastructure on Main Street in the places people already gather. Through local hubs, listening sessions, and accessible events, small business owners support nonpartisan civic education and voter participation. These spaces help neighbors understand how government works, what is at stake in their communities, and how to take part in public life.
By meeting people where they are, we lower barriers to engagement and create welcoming entry points into democracy.
Impact:
Supported nonpartisan voter registration and civic education in trusted local spaces.
On pace to help register 50,000 new voters by 2032, bringing new voices into public life.
Delivered policy education and narrative tools to more than 2,000 advocates in 2025.
Powering Mic’ed—listening sessions to build policy alignment—and Main Street Academy—media and policy bootcamps for advocates.
A shelter gives people a place to gather and step into civic life together.
3. Change the Weather
Advance policy solutions by organizing shared experience into public action
We translate lived experience into issue advocacy that helps communities shape the conditions they live and work in. Through campaigns like Care Is Capital, we elevate the voices of small business owners, workers, and families to build public understanding around care, economic security, and local prosperity.
By coordinating storytelling, public education, and collective action, we help shift the broader environment in which policy decisions are made.
Impact:
Powered local and statewide advocacy campaigns that elevated care and economic issues through Days of Action, fly-ins, and public forums.
Candid Convo virtual series facilitated dialogue between constituents and elected officials.
Internal polling of our 30,000+ membership provided policy insights that informed legislating.
Changing the weather is about shaping the larger conditions so communities aren’t just responding to crises, but shaping what comes next.
The Power of Main Street Voices
At Main Street Alliance, we believe small business owners are America’s most trusted messengers—and too often, the most overlooked in policymaking. We’re not just employers or entrepreneurs; we’re civic anchors, problem-solvers, and advocates for a fairer economy.
Why small business owners are best positioned to lead:
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We’re among the most credible voices in America — people listen when Main Street speaks.
We have real skin in the game — state and federal policies decide if our businesses survive.
We’re evergreen — we don’t pack up after an election; we stay and keep leading.
We live the affordability crisis weighing on families — healthcare, childcare, housing, and rising costs hit us first and hardest.
That’s why we’re building a diverse, multiracial coalition of small business leaders from every walk of life. When we lift up these voices, we don’t just react to bad policy — we set the agenda for thriving local economies.
Team
We’re a scrappy team with more than 50 years of combined experience in comms, policy and advocacy.
Staff
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Richard Trent
Executive Director
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Shawn Phetteplace
National Campaigns Director
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Lauren Bealore
National Director of Policy & Programs
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Daniela Mrabti
Comms Consultant - Mori Strategies
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Chris Collins
Deputy Director
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Yash Mori
Senior Advisor - Mori Strategies
Board
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Molly Weston Williamson
Sr. Fellow, Center for American Progress
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Michelle Tressler
Co-owner, Hinterland Brewery & Restaurant
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Thomas Lee Johnson
CEO and Founder, Agile Immersive
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J. Kelly Conklin
Board Treasurer, Foley Waite Associates
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David Borris
Board President, Hel’s Kitchen Catering
