Three McHenry County small businesses have different levels of concern over what the Affordable Care Act will mean to them.

To the small Harvard manufacturer, the law is a foot in the door to socking all businesses with the mandate of providing health insurance, not just those with 50 or more full-time employees. To the Crystal Lake garden center, the law could end up costing a lot more than politicians are saying. And to the Woodstock computer company, the law is government getting in the way of a company already providing quality insurance.

And all three of them wonder whether the mandates that come with the law will mean a future decision over whether it’s worth it to grow. Aero Industries, a Harvard-based manufacturer of graphite components for high-temperature applications, has tripled its size in five years from operating out of a home to a plant with 11 full-time employees.