Back in the day, I ran a small career counseling business. Had a few employees, did well enough. Bought a house and over a couple decades achieved all I wanted on the material plane (which isn't all that much). And my politics were never the same.
At the beginning of my entrepreneurial adventure, I was your standard-issue progressive, waxing poetic about social justice while looking down on "corporate America". Judged people if they "looked Republican". Wouldn't date men who were "right-wing". I was even a Democratic Socialist of America.
Then one too many clients complained about how bad luck had ruined their careers - the same clients who showed up late for appointments (if at all) and didn't follow-through on assignments. And one too many of my own employees became "outraged" when fired for chronic misbehavior. Basically, I heard the victim narrative one too many times. Yeah, yeah - someone else is always to blame. And I came to appreciate how frickin hard it is to run a successful business.
Which is why it makes total sense to me that small business owners are more likely to be Republicans than Democrats (even if they're slightly less likely to be Trump supporters than the general public). One, the vast majority work long hours. Two, the vast majority make less than $100K a year. Three, the vast majority of small businesses fail within 10 years. Four, even if their business beats the odds, it typically takes decades for small business owners to strike it rich. After all those years of risk-taking, uncertainty, sleepless nights, and delayed gratification, who wouldn't prefer the party of low taxes and small government?
Not saying I'm a Republican, but I've come to appreciate the Grand Old Party and hope it survives and thrives with its core values intact after this Trumpian interlude.