You can tell your elected representatives what you think should be done all you want, and it still will not amount to the influence you have with your vote. That said, there are ways to combine the use of your individual voice with your promise as a voter in order to bring about change that could help you and your business.

One of the most valuable insights of Enterpreneur.com's post tackling the question of how to influence policymakers is that in many cases it is your local legislators--those elected at a municipal or county level rather than state or federal--that hold the power to enact, or not to enact, changes that will help you and your business. Since they are also much more accessible, and more amenable to the leverage you can bring as an individual voter as well as important member of your community, the best place to start is likely with them.

So how do you approach your alderman, or mayor, or county representative? For one thing, you can go and see them--unless you're talking about the mayor of New York, these are going to be accessible people. The other key, according a consultant whom Entrepreneur.com talked to, is to show them why what you want is good for votes. This is basic salesmanship: appeal to self-interest. For politicians, self-interest means support in November. Convince them that what you want will increase their vote count, and you have a good chance of getting it; fail to persuade them of that, or make no reference to that, and you're fighting a decidedly uphill battle.

Now, what about state and even federal-level politicians? Here it's a little trickier: they're not as accessible (although you usually should be able to get something in front of your U.S. Congressman if you put some effort into it), and their constituencies are large, making your voice that much smaller. It's here where lobbies such as the National Federation of Independent Business can come into play. Unsurprisingly, we've been getting emails from NFIB constantly over the past couple weeks announcing candidates whom they have endorsed. The one caution we'd strike is that their focus on small business does tend to give them a slight Republican lean. Which certainly shouldn't pose a problem if you're a Republican, too; but Democrats especially may want to be wary of unquestioningly accepting all that the organization says. Still, it's a good resource, and definitely worth joining.

Beyond that, vote on the issues. But most of all, VOTE!