William Dennis is senior research fellow at the Washington, D.C.-based NFIB Research Foundation, the research arm of the National Federation of Independent Business.

Q. Tell us about your profession.

A. I collect small business-specific information that might be useful for forming policy and then translate that data into something useable. Often, I translate what's being written in academic literature for our staff people, so we can see what it means for policy. Some of the stuff is pretty esoteric.


Q. What did you do before this?


A. I've been at the NFIB for 26 years. I worked on Capitol Hill for six years before coming here, as a member of a Congressman's staff. I also got an MA in political science at the University of Florida.


Q. How did you get started in your profession?

A. When I was on Capitol Hill, the Congressman I worked for was on the small business committee. Small firms were very important to our district, and dealing with them kind of fell to me. So I met a lot of people involved with small business, including folks at the NFIB. One day, they asked if I wanted to be a lobbyist. I wasn't interested. But when they said they were developing more of a research direction for the association, I realized I'd like to do that.

I had a lot of sympathy for small business, both from my work in Congress and growing up in a small town, where I knew most of the local business owners. Plus, I had come from an academic background. And my father was a college professor. It was natural that I might gravitate to something along the research line. It all just seemed to fit.


Q. What have been the biggest challenges?

A. The major challenge I've encountered came early on -- simply getting my hands on small business-specific information and convincing people it was important. That was true everywhere, even in government.


Q. What are your favorite resources?

A. We use all kinds of policy resources, from Web sites to the think tanks here in town, like the Employee Benefits Research Institute and the Heritage Foundation. I also like the University of Michigan's Internet facility. I get all sorts of academic publications, and just pay by the article.


Q. What is your most useful gadget?

A. I carry a laptop on the road and use it at home. I find I can write a lot more easily when I'm out of the office.


Q. What advice would you give someone starting out in your profession?

A. Try to develop as broad a background as you can. You have to know a little bit about research, about policy, about small business, about economics.


Q. What's the best and worst part of your job?

A. I get to research a huge variety of areas. For example, we're doing polls now on liability, collection of state taxes, postal rates. But, that also means you can't learn a tremendous amount about any one thing. So, the great part is also the most frustrating.


Q. What are some of the most useful resources for the small businessperson?

A. If you want general resource material on policy issues, there's the SBA (Small Business Administration) Web site. For taxes, go to the IRS Web site. For statistics on benefits, go to the BLS (Bureau of Labor Statistics) Web site. There's just so much information available now, however, you need to be very specific about what you're looking for before you start your search.