coffee shop down the street, that s not competition for me. believe it or not, if someone can t find something here, i tell them to go to the jewelry store down the block. i want it to stay in town. why shouldn t they be able to find it in another shop in town? 2013 was a tumultuous year for many small business owners. they had to deal with government uncertainty confusion over the new health care law. as we look forward, there does seem to be hope. the national federation of independent business optimism index was up in november 9/10 of a point. they provided a seasonal adjusted increase in november. could this be a trend for 2014? we have the founder and ceo of the advocacy group, the small business majority. daniel pink was an aide to rice and a proclaimed business thinker and best selling author. his latest is to sell is human.