Our Research
Small Business Majority’s new national opinion poll of small business owners reveals that a plurality has benefited from government, private, or nonprofit programs designed to support a specific demographic group. This includes government agencies and federally-backed programs such as SBA’s 8(a) program, Women’s Business Centers and the Restaurant Revitalization Fund as well as private grant and loan programs, consulting through chambers of commerce, and support provided through business incubators and accelerators. These programs have helped them with general business success and growth, access to capital and one-on-one mentoring and guidance.
Small Business Majority’s new national opinion poll of small businesses reveals that they believe they’re not competing on a level playing field in the federal tax system with large corporations. While many small business owners are aware of and take advantage of the 20% pass-through deduction, the benefits of this deduction are skewed in favor of a small number of the wealthiest businesses. As a result, they support several reforms, including a fixed standard deduction. Additionally, entrepreneurs support maintaining increased IRS funding so that they can properly execute their mission to improve customer service and increased audits of wealthy taxpayers and large corporations.
This multifaceted study that examines how small businesses adopted new digital technologies during and after the pandemic. While many small businesses have adopted new tools to support their growth, the report also reveals that challenges remain, especially for businesses with less revenue. For this report we surveyed small business owners on several distinct topics, such as general digital literacy and broadband access, online presence, accounting, finance and point-of-sale technology, customer relationship management systems, human resources, cybersecurity, and artificial intelligence.
As narratives and concerns about national crime persist, it’s important to take the perspectives of America’s entrepreneurs into account. This poll of brick-and-mortar small businesses provides insights into their views on public safety in their communities. The survey reveals that these small business owners are more concerned about economic issues that impact their businesses than crime in their communities.
Opinion Poll: Small businesses support policy solutions to address our nation’s childcare challenges
The lack of childcare funding and access to affordable childcare has put a significant burden on working parents and has impeded the ability of small businesses to retain a skilled workforce. Additionally, for entrepreneurs with children of their own, it’s preventing many from being able to launch or grow successful businesses. Although several states have taken steps to fill gaps in childcare investments, federal action is needed to solve the childcare funding cliff and ensure more individuals can own or work for a small business. Small Business Majority’s new national opinion poll of small business owners reveals they believe that policymakers should take steps to address the cost of childcare, and that they strongly support a variety of legislative solutions.
While small businesses employ nearly half (46.4%) of the private workforce in the United States, many are struggling to hire and retain a ready workforce. Our poll of Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas small business owners reveals strong support for legislative solutions that would remove barriers for justice-impacted individuals by making reforms to occupational licensing and debt-based driver’s license suspensions. These politically diverse small business owners believe these measures would enable employers to tap into an underutilized workforce and open up opportunities for entrepreneurship.
Small businesses are rebounding from issues stemming from the pandemic, but rising healthcare costs are hurting their bottom lines and limiting their growth. New opinion polling reveals that small business owners strongly support bipartisan policy solutions that lower costs by setting price caps, increasing transparency and promoting competition in the healthcare industry.
As of January 1, 2024, some small businesses in the United States are required to file a Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) Report with the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). This new reporting requirement is part of the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA), a law designed to help prevent and combat money laundering, tax fraud and other financial crimes. A recent Small Business Majority national opinion poll gauged small business owners’ awareness of the new BOI reporting requirement and their experiences with filing the report.
Small business owners know it makes good business sense to care for their employees as this is crucial to hiring and retaining a skilled workforce. However, many small employers struggle to provide benefits like paid family and medical leave, putting them at a disadvantage when competing for talent with large corporations that can afford to offer robust benefits on their own. As state policymakers consider a number of proposals for the 2024 legislative session, a new opinion poll reveals that small businesses support a state-administered paid family and medical leave insurance program in New Mexico.
The COVID-19 pandemic completely altered consumer behavior and how entrepreneurs operate their businesses in order to successfully reach customers. In our latest survey on small business digital transformation in the wake of the pandemic, we explored various opportunities, challenges and concerns surrounding how they use digital accounting software and digital point of sale systems to manage their business’ finances.