We’re always looking for ways to help small local business. One way is to level the playing field so big business doesn’t have all the tools and benefits.

A couple of weeks ago, we announced our partnership with Small Business Rising, a national leader in advocacy for policies that work for local business. We’re also entering a partnership with an exciting new company to bring big corporate marketing intelligence to small local businesses. But that’s for another day so stay tuned.

Today you have the opportunity to help the government corral big business.

Have you noticed your peers being bought up by a larger company? Are you finding your business increasingly standing alone in your industry? The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Department of Justice Antitrust Division (DOJ) are seeking local instances where a big company has gobbled up smaller companies in your town. This could be in any industry and any place.

The Federal Trade Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division (DOJ) are extending the deadline to September 30 for the public comments that seek to identify serial acquisitions and roll-up strategies throughout the economy that have led to consolidation that has harmed competition. This effort seeks information on serial acquisitions in which corporate actors, including private equity owned businesses, become larger—and potentially dominant—through acquisitions of several smaller firms in the same or related business sectors or industries.

Often, businesses do not have to report these deals to the federal antitrust agencies, allowing firms to amass significant control over key products, services, or labor markets without government scrutiny. These types of transactions can harm competition to the detriment of consumers, workers, and innovation across an entire industry or business sector.

Small Business Rising is collecting information from local businesses and communities in peril to present to the Institute for Local Self Reliance (ILSR) in their ongoing efforts to level the big business playing field.

Tell Your Corporate Consolidation Story

If you’ve seen corporate takeovers of small businesses in your community, tell your story to Small Business Rising. Your collective voice exposes the depth of this problem. Help level the local business playing field by sharing your observations. This form from Small Business Rising has a space to tell your story. They will followup with you.