BOCA RATON, FL - In his keynote speech at Excellence Alliance, Inc.’s, fourth-annual National Executive Meeting for its independent contractor members, Jim Norris, chairman of the organization, noted that even in good times it’s not easy running a business.

It’s solitary as an owner, he said, “And there’s a burden, a weight to bear.… People are depending on us.” Also, that old nemesis, consolidation, is still very much present.