Small businesses in Colorado and across the country are heading into the holiday season bracing for less-than-typical spending, Hunter Nelson said. She is the director of the Colorado office of the Small Business Majority, a national organization. “We’ve heard in Colorado as well in our other states that seasonal hiring is being impacted. Tariffs and other sources of inflation have raised prices, which has consumer confidence down,” Nelson said.As a result, she added, smaller businesses, especially retailers, are holding off on hiring seasonal workers.
Small Business News
11/20/2025 |
The Denver Post
11/14/2025 |
Marketplace
The Small Business Majority — which primarily represents firms with 1-to-10 employees — reports optimism is low right now. Business owners tend to be an optimistic bunch,” said Brian Pifer, VP of research at Small Business Majority. “But this year has been really challenging in terms of revenue declines and expense increases.” Costs are up for many businesses, including tariffs on imported goods and higher health insurance premiums. Pifer also said he’s seeing “a lot of headcount decreases among Hispanic-owned businesses, the impacts of immigration enforcement.”
11/13/2025 |
Senator Amy Klobuchar
Organizations including First Five Years Fund, Main Street Alliance, Save the Children, and Small Business Majority support the COACH Act…“Our research shows that small businesses are struggling to access affordable childcare, a growing concern that’s making it increasingly difficult for small businesses to thrive. We support legislation that would provide valuable resources to entrepreneurs and would help alleviate a problem plaguing small businesses throughout the United States,” said John Arensmeyer, Small Business Majority Founder and CEO.
11/12/2025 |
The Oregonian
Fifty years snuck up on Mike Roach, who first opened Paloma Clothing — at the time, called La Paloma, Spanish for “the dove” — with his mother in 1975. The 74-year-old spent the better part of those five decades running the Southwest Portland boutique alongside his wife and business partner Kim Osgood, 70…Roach spent three days in Washington, D.C., last month, speaking with Oregon representatives, including Sen. Jeff Merkley, about the importance of extending federal health care subsidies. Businesses like Paloma, Roach said, are the glue that holds communities together.
11/11/2025 |
Bloomberg
John Arensmeyer, founder and CEO of Small Business Majority, said the expiration of the enhanced premium tax credits would have a major impact on small businesses. He estimated about a fifth of the approximately 60 million people tied to the sector, who either own or work for small businesses, are enrolled on ACA exchanges. “It’s another pressure on small businesses that may cause them to lose employees or go out of business or quit and do something else,” he said.
11/11/2025 |
USA Today
Entrepreneurs who don't have access to employer health insurance are among those who would suffer if the pandemic tax credits expire, according to the nonprofit Small Business Majority. “An agreement that would reopen the federal government without renewing the Affordable Care Act’s enhanced premium tax credits deals a huge blow to the fortunes of small businesses in America," said John Arensmeyer, the small business group's founder and CEO.
11/09/2025 |
The Washington Post
Paloma Clothing, a 50-year-old women’s clothing and accessories boutique in Portland, Oregon, has seen reduced sales since the start of the year, said co-owner Mike Roach. His customers tend to be well-informed women who pay attention to politics and the stock market, and many are concerned about where the country is headed, Roach said. “What we’ve always found during our entire 50 years, is when customers are anxious or afraid, they spend less money,” he said. Lately, fewer customers seem to be coming in.
11/07/2025 |
The Sacramento Bee
Covered California, a health insurance marketplace made possible by passage of the Affordable Care Act in 2010, offers coverage to people of many different income levels. About half of all ACA marketplace enrollees are small business owners or employees of small businesses, said Bianca Blomquist, California director of Small Business Majority, an advocacy and education group. Before the ACA marketplaces, Blomquist said, “too many entrepreneurs were locked out of coverage because of sky-high premiums or pre-existing conditions.
10/31/2025 |
CNBC
“Any increase is challenging for small businesses because most small firms are already operating on thin margins,” John Arensmeyer, founder and chief executive of Small Business Majority, a business advocacy organization, wrote in an email…Small Business Majority’s research has found that small businesses are making some changes that include increased employee contributions to their health plans, moving to an insurance plan offering more limited coverage and cutting other employee benefits.
10/30/2025 |
The Brookings Institution
In an August survey by Small Business Majority, 81% of small business owners expressed concern about tariffs. Nearly 60% said they were already facing higher costs, and many reported taking or considering actions such as raising prices (31%) or delaying expansion (27%).