The recent survey data from Goldman Sachs’ “10,000 Small Businesses Voices” report showed that small business owners are very engaged in the upcoming elections. In fact, 96% of those polled said they would definitely or probably vote in November. One interesting point from the survey was that 20% of small business owners were undecided on which candidate to support for president, compared to just 12% of the general public who were undecided.
Another key finding from the report was that small business owners feel that candidates for president aren’t talking enough about issues affecting small businesses. A majority (55%) of respondents expressed dissatisfaction with how candidates had been addressing these issues, while only 27% said they were satisfied. When asked about which specific issues were being “sufficiently addressed” by candidates, inflationary pressures and small business tax policy were at the top of the list, with 73% and 72% respectively. Regulatory burden on small businesses came in third at 70%, while access to affordable capital garnered 66%.
In terms of financial pain points for small businesses, higher labor costs, increasing commercial insurance costs, and rising rent costs were cited as the top concerns by respondents. Other issues included increasing employee benefits and health insurance costs as well as rising access to capital costs. The report noted that compared to three months ago, a majority (71%) of those polled said inflationary pressures had increased on their businesses while 49% said they’ve had to raise prices on their goods or services to cover these costs.
Jessica Johnson-Cope, president of Johnson Security Bureau in The Bronx, N.Y., shared her thoughts on the matter saying that “small business owners today are experiencing operating costs that are increasingly unaffordable.” She emphasized that while small business owners are resilient and able to endure these challenges for now, policymakers and candidates need to focus on improving the small business climate in order for America’s future to thrive.”
