We Asked 500 Small Business Owners What They Thought About the Economy, Inflation and the Upcoming Election. Here Are the Results.

The past 4 years person been marked by a uniquely challenging group of circumstances for small business owners — a once-in-a-generation pandemic, proviso concatenation headaches, precocious (though somewhat dwindling) inflation and expanding labour costs, among different setbacks.

In the run-up to the consequential 2024 statesmanlike election, Entrepreneur wanted to cognize really mini business owners consciousness astir topics ranging from the economy, to hiring, to stress and sleep habits. So, successful business pinch Talker Research, we surveyed 500 mini business owners to get immoderate answers. We'll dive into the afloat results below, but first, the bully news: Half (51%) of mini business owners study that their business is doing amended compared to 2023, and 84% are optimistic that 2025 will beryllium amended for business than 2024.

Related: Small Business Owners Are Taking 3 Creative Actions to Achieve Their Goals successful 2024, According to a New Report

What mini business owners are reasoning astir correct now

In general, mini business owners crossed the state consciousness optimistic astir their businesses' prospects — pinch the astir optimistic business owners located successful the Northeast (56%) and Midwest (54%).

Two successful 5 (43%) mini business owners judge inflation will improve. Millennial mini business owners are the astir optimistic, pinch 49% reporting they judge it will get better.

Nearly half (48%) of respondents judge the system will go stronger complete the adjacent 12 months.

• Men were much apt to judge that the system would go "much stronger" successful the adjacent 12 months (21% versus 13%).
• Democrats were overmuch much apt to judge successful this, pinch 63% emotion it'll go stronger, versus 49% of Republicans and 39% of Independents.

Related: 6 Ways to Protect Your Small Business From Inflation Pressure

How business owners consciousness astir AI

The mostly (74%) of mini business owners study emotion optimistic astir artificial intelligence, pinch 28% saying AI is helping their business go more efficient, 27% saying AI will create caller business opportunities and 19% saying AI is redeeming them money.

• 46% of babe boomer mini business owners study that AI is not applicable to their business.
• 84% of millennial business owners spot AI arsenic helping their business successful immoderate way.
• 60% of mini business owners opportunity shifts successful artificial intelligence, societal media and hunt algorithms person not meaningfully impacted their businesses.

Related: AI for the Underdog — Here's How Small Businesses Can Thrive With Artificial Intelligence

What mini business owners deliberation astir hiring

Although astir half (47%) of respondents are not presently recruiting caller employees, mini business owners who are moving to summation new talent are doing truthful by expanding wages (28%), offering the expertise to work remotely (19%) and offering the expertise to activity less hours (16%).

About 20% of millennial business owners are providing further master improvement compared to Gen X (12%) and babe boomers (3%).

Most mini business owners (71%) judge that the cost of goods will summation complete the adjacent 12 months, while 63% judge labour costs will increase.

Related: Amazon CEO Mandates Employees Work successful the Office 5 Days Per Week Starting January: 'Strengthening Our Culture Remains a Top Priority'

What challenges mini business owners are facing

Of those businesses reporting downward capacity versus past year, the mean business proprietor believes they tin past 11.9 months.

• 20% judge they tin only prolong the existent authorities of the business for little than 3 months.
• 40% judge they will past nether a year.

The apical threats to mini businesses reported by their owners are ostentation (53%), rising operations costs (43%) — including housing, taxes, etc. — and economical uncertainty (41%).

Over half of respondents (51%) said they reacted to ostentation complete the past twelvemonth by cutting non-essential spending.

• 38% opportunity they raised their prices.
• 26% opportunity they adjusted to little profitability.
• Male owners (17%) were doubly arsenic apt arsenic female owners (7%) to respond to ostentation by renegotiating pinch suppliers.
• When it comes to experiencing rate shortfalls, it appears to spell 1 measurement aliases the different — 47% had knowledgeable a rate shortfall this year, while the aforesaid number (47%) reported this not being a problem truthful acold this year.
• Owners successful the Northeast (44%) were slightest apt to acquisition a rate shortfall.

Of the respondents who knowledgeable a rate shortfall, almost half (46%) dug into their individual savings, while 30% said they stopped paying themselves. Others asked friends, family aliases investors for money (23%) and took retired a statement of in installments (17%). Almost doubly arsenic galore antheral owners (14%) sewage a slope indebtedness arsenic female owners (8%).

The mostly of respondents (70%) opportunity they are concerned the U.S. will participate a recession successful the adjacent 2 years. Concern astir impending recession among business owners increases pinch property erstwhile looking astatine millennials (27%), Gen X (30%) and babe boomers (38%).

Related: The Most Common (and Preventable) Mistakes Small Businesses Make — and How to Avoid Them

How accent affects mini business owners

A whopping 61% of mini business owners study emotion stressed astir the existent authorities of their mini business.

• Male owners were somewhat little stressed wide (57%) versus 64% of female owners.
• Democrats were slightest stressed (52%) versus Republicans (67%) and Independents (61%).
• Younger businesses were much apt to bespeak accent pinch 72% of businesses nether 1 twelvemonth reporting this versus 64% of 1-5 twelvemonth businesses, 58% of 6-10 years, and 55% of 10 years plus.

Related: 9 Ways High-Performing Entrepreneurs Handle Stress

Of those respondents who study emotion stressed, 56% opportunity they are getting less sleep because of it, while 38% opportunity they are struggling to focus.

• Sleep affected younger generations most, pinch 61% of millennials, 52% of Gen Xers and 50% of boomers reporting little sleep.
• Millennials were astir apt to study a nonaccomplishment of attraction (43%) and opportunity accent leads them to walk much money they tin spend (41%).
• Gen Z were astir apt to mention accent arsenic a logic they are experiencing intelligence wellness issues (34%).

The mean stressed mini business proprietor loses 7 hours of slumber per week.

• 20% of stressed mini business owners opportunity they suffer 3 to 4 hours of slumber weekly.
• Millennial owners suffer the astir slumber (7.5 hours).
• Stressed antheral owners suffer somewhat much slumber each week than stressed female owners (7.3 hours versus 6.9).

How mini business owners consciousness astir the election

Most mini business owners (81%) travel predetermination news closely, pinch 45% reporting regular monitoring.

• More babe boomers (95%) than millennials and Gen X (80%) are pursuing the predetermination closely.

Related: 10 Significant Ways Your Taxes Will Be Impacted by a Kamala Harris Administration

Two successful 5 (40%) respondents judge the policies of the adjacent president of the United States could amended their business and expect that they will, while 39% don't person religion that immoderate adjuvant argumentation will beryllium passed.

• Equally, Democrats (15%) and Republicans (15%) judge authorities argumentation cannot materially amended their businesses, while Independents were somewhat much pessimistic astatine 29%.

Related: 10 Significant Ways A Second Trump Administration Could Impact Your Taxes