“Yep I Built This,” a New Facebook Page Launched by Mark Matson of Matson Money, Celebrates American Small Business; Generates 100,000 “Likes” in One Month

MASON, Ohio--(BUSINESS WIRE)--America’s small business has a message for the world, “Yep, we built our businesses and we’re proud of the role small business plays in generating wealth, creating jobs and reinforcing our country’s disappearing middle class.” The new Facebook Page, Yep I Built This, is the brainchild of entrepreneur and frequent television guest Mark Matson, who started it after realizing that the greatest economic hope for our country rests with the millions of small business people who, against the odds, risk it all to create opportunity for themselves and their neighbors.

“A lagging economy requires us to focus on the positive to help one another achieve. The current tenor of America simply has to change. American small business is the answer, not the problem, it’s the solution as Yep I Built This attests.”

At the same time, Matson along with his wife and daughter, produced, filmed and edited a short movie for YouTube, “Honey You Didn’t Build That,” which offers Matson’s own explanation on the recent comments made by President Obama regarding small business owners. The movie has gone viral and now has more than 900,000 views since August 28, 2012.

“I grew tired of the attacks on small business and decided to do something positive to give entrepreneurs a place to share their stories of how they built their small businesses and made them successful,” says Matson, owner of Matson Money, a Mason, OH based registered investment advisory firm. “A lagging economy requires us to focus on the positive to help one another achieve. The current tenor of America simply has to change. American small business is the answer, not the problem, it’s the solution as Yep I Built This attests.”

Scores of small businesses from across the country, as diverse as a female-owned marine research supply company to a wedding cosmetology business, have already posted their stories of their own grit, detailing how hard work and unflagging determination enabled them to take an idea and transform it into a small business. Each day, the page celebrates a new small business that posts its story of hope, inspiration and success to Yep I Built This.

“When I hatched the idea of this page, I was hoping to get a few friends and business associates to take note and share their stories,” says Matson. “But it just took off and went viral, thanks to the energies and excitement of entrepreneurs across the country. Many feel overlooked and vilified as politics divide our great country. I think the common voice of ‘Yep I Built This’ reveals that the American dream of free enterprise and entrepreneurship is alive and well, and we should not allow politics to cloud the fact that American small business is the greatest economic force in the world.”

The page invites every business owner to share their story, ideas, fears and hopes for the unknown. Business owners are encouraged to gather their staff and take a photo of their business to share with others.

“I founded my company over 25 years ago and during my first year I earned $12,000 while putting $30,000 on credit cards to make ends meet. Today, I have 42 employees and we serve over 17,000 households all over the country with pride. I love owning a small business and I believe entrepreneurship is what makes this country great.”

Yep I Built This was launched on the morning of Thursday, August 23, 2012.

“Honey You Didn’t Build That” was posted to YouTube on Tuesday, August 28, 2012.