On June 30, Small Business Majority submitted a statement for the record in response to a U.S.
As fuel and transportation costs climb, small businesses are facing mounting financial pressure. This edition of Voice of Main Street finds that 67% of small businesses report rising expenses and half report declining revenue over the past three months. Nearly three-quarters (74%) have been impacted by higher fuel and transportation costs, while rising prices for utilities, raw materials, healthcare and rent continue to strain operations. The survey also explores how these challenges are affecting hiring, investment decisions, profitability and optimism, and highlights the critical role access to capital plays in shaping small business confidence and growth.
Over the past several months, Small Business Majority hosted five roundtable discussions with nearly 50 small business owners in Cortland, Long Island, Queens and Manhattan focusing on many of the biggest challenges small businesses are facing today, including rising healthcare costs, unpredictable tariffs, rising inflation and unaffordable living, difficulty accessing capital, workforce shortages and childcare access. The entrepreneurs also shared how running a business in 2026 can require mental and physical sacrifice as these challenges continue to escalate.
Small businesses are navigating a sharp squeeze on Main Street, according to Small Business Majority’s latest Voice of Main Street poll released on March 25, 2026. Most entrepreneurs report rising expenses alongside falling revenues, with costs driven by tariffs, healthcare premiums, utilities, and supplies. At the same time, many say weak consumer demand, difficulty meeting payroll, and concerns about corporate consolidation are limiting growth and forcing tough choices—from raising prices to delaying hiring and investment.
All too often, lawmakers fail to recognize the relationship between policy decisions and the impact they have on small businesses. Small Business Majority helps people in power make that connection in a variety of ways, including by conducting our own original research. Since our earliest days, we’ve utilized scientific opinion polling on the national and state levels to determine small business owners’ views on a range of topics like access to capital, healthcare and workforce issues, and also to learn about how various issues and challenges are actually impacting their businesses. We then use these findings to drive our advocacy work.
On November 13, 2025, Small Business Majority released a research report examining the challenges small businesses face from rising healthcare premiums and increased immigration enforcement. The survey found that two-thirds of small business owners view higher healthcare costs as a significant financial burden and strongly support extending the Affordable Care Act’s enhanced premium tax credits. Entrepreneurs also reported negative effects from immigration enforcement and expressed strong support for modernizing the legal immigration system and creating pathways to citizenship for qualifying undocumented immigrants.
On November 5, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Learning Resources v. Trump, the case challenging the administration’s authority to impose broad global tariffs under the International Economic Emergency Powers Act (IEEPA). On the morning of the oral arguments, Small Business Majority National Small Business Council member Mike Brey attended a press conference to urge the Supreme Court to stand up for small businesses by striking down the tariffs implemented under IEEPA.
Watch Mike's remarks.
On October 21 and 22, Small Business Majority hosted 20 small business owners for an advocacy opportunity in Washington, D.C. The fly-in brought small business owners from our network to Capitol Hill to discuss key issues facing entrepreneurs today, including protecting affordable healthcare, extending the Affordable Care Act’s enhanced premium tax credits and advancing tariff relief.
Last week, Small Business Majority network member Rebecca Melsky, Co-Founder of Princess Awesome, joined Senator Ed Markey (D-MA), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Small Business & Entrepreneurship, and Senators Mazie Hirono (D-HI) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) at a press conference on the Small Business RELIEF Act.
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